


Warriors, Destiny of the Moon: Journey to Death Mountain - Book 1

by Prussiasaurus_Rex



Series: Warriors - Destiny of the Moon [1]
Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Adventure, F/F, F/M, Original Character(s), POV Alternating, POV Original Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-10
Updated: 2019-01-30
Packaged: 2019-04-21 03:41:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 111,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14276148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Prussiasaurus_Rex/pseuds/Prussiasaurus_Rex
Summary: Moonpaw is a new apprentice, and excited to be training under the warrior Darkfire, a powerful and well-respected tom who she has always greatly admired. But when she is sent on a journey to Death Mountain with a small group of warriors that seems suspiciously disliked by the new leader, trouble arises as to whether they're doing this for any solid purpose, or is Mockingstar just trying to rid his clan of competition of other well-respected cats?Based on an original story I wrote with werewolves, but set in a more clanlike setting so I can really practice getting a feel for these characters without it impacting the original story.





	1. Allegiances

**HarmonyClan**  
Leader: Mockingstar - Long-furred black tom with dark green eyes  
Deputy: Shadowwhispers - Gray and black tabby tom with light blue eyes (Mentor to Bearpaw)  
Medicine Cat: Glimmerwind - Golden she-cat with pale blue eyes (Mentor to Lavenderpaw)  
Warriors:  
Firefoot - Bright ginger she-cat with amber eyes (Mentor to Stripepaw)  
Lightfoot - Black she-cat with white paws and muzzle, green eyes  
Nightsoul - Dark gray tom with a pale silver muzzle and amber eyes  
Darkfire - Huge gray-black tom with light blue eyes  
Mothpetal - Golden-brown she-cat with big green eyes  
Stagpelt - Small, light brown tabby tom with a stump tail and green eyes  
Roseear - Pale golden tabby she-cat with green eyes  
Bonesnap - White tom with pale blue eyes (Mentor to Daisypaw)  
Pikefang - Gray and white tabby tom with amber eyes  
Snowfrost - Light brown and white tabby she-cat with pale blue eyes  
Silverheart - Small gray she-cat with bright green eyes  
Sunflare - Ginger she-cat with amber eyes  
Rowanfrost - Dark red and white tom with leaf green eyes  
Sagepuddle - Dark blue tom with green eyes  
Hazelflight - Golden-brown tabby she-cat with big green eyes (Mentor to Applepaw)  
Smokerise - Silver she-cat with bright green eyes  
Wolfclaw - Tortoiseshell she-cat with light blue eyes  
Turtleshell - Small dark brown tom with green eyes  
Queens:  
Softpelt - Blue-gray she-cat with green eyes, mother to Nightsoul's kits  
(Bluekit - Small blue-gray she-cat with blue eyes, blind in one eye)  
Calmwind - Beautiful golden-brown she-cat with amber eyes, mother to Shadowwhisper's kits  
(Moonkit - Tiny white she-cat with big amber eyes) (Mothkit - Golden she-cat with bright green eyes)  
Violetscar - Gray she-cat with light blue eyes, mother to Mockingstar's kits  
(Alligatorkit - Silver tom with pale green eyes) (Snakekit - Slender gray tom with green eyes)  
Snowbird - Long-furred white she-cat with odd eyes, former kittypet, expecting Stagpelt's kits  
Apprentices:  
Applepaw - Ginger tom with green eyes  
Bearpaw - Dark brown tom with blue eyes  
Lavenderpaw - Small black she-cat with amber eyes  
Daisypaw - Pale golden she-cat with leaf green eyes  
Stripepaw - Small brown and white she-cat with amber eyes

 

Family Relations include:  
Mockingshadow and Violetscar are the parents of Alligatorkit and Snakekit.  
Shadowwhispers and Calmwind are the parents of Silverheart, Moonkit, and Mothkit.  
Nightsoul and Softpelt are the parents of Lavenderpaw, Daisypaw, and Bluekit.  
Firefoot is the mother of Wolfclaw, Applepaw, and Bearpaw.  
Lightfoot is the mother of Stripepaw.  
Mothpetal is the mother of Hazelflight and Smokerise.  
Sparrowear is the father of Glimmerwind, Roseear, and Stagpelt.  
Pikefang and Snowfrost are half-siblings.  
Rowanfrost and Sagepuddle are the half-brothers of Darkfire.  
Calmwind and Mothpetal are sisters.  
Pikefang and Sunflare are mates with no kits.  
Stagpelt and Snowbird are mates expecting kits.  
Wolfclaw and Turtleshell are mates expecting kits.  
Lightfoot is the aunt and adoptive mother of Turtleshell.  
Softpelt is the aunt of Rowanfrost and Sagepuddle.


	2. Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The death of the former leader leads to the rise of a new one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Terms -  
> Season: A period of about 3 months, can't remember if this was used in the original Warriors series or not  
> Monster-Battle: Car wreck, I felt like it was weird that I can't remember them ever describing a car wreck, but I guess they don't come in enough contact with roads they would usually need a word for it, so I came up with one  
> Star-cavern: Their version of the moonstone.

"I am sorry to announce that Scarstar has finally passed away." Glimmerwind called, pausing at the end of her statement to allow murmuring to rip through the crowd. They had all been expecting and waiting for the old, sickly tom to pass, but there was still the sense of unease there from the moment finally arriving. She wished she was not the one who had to take care of this, to announce it to the clan, to have sat with him for so long trying her best to either heal him or make his passing as peaceful as possible. But the life of a medicine cat could not be that simple, and it was her duty to do all this, and to look out for her clan at such a grave time as they waited for their deputy to become the leader they would need to get over the passing of their last, who was widely beloved throughout the clan for his sympathetic, yet firm nature.

Over all the murmuring though, Glimmerwind also heard a loud wailing from the back of the crowd, near the nursery, and couldn't help but glance back toward it. There was Violetscar, of course, clearly very distraught over the news, more so than anyone else. The pretty gray queen was the only surviving family of Scarstar, his only living daughter, and the two had been known for being incredibly close. Violetscar's mother had died during kitting, and Violetscar's two sisters had followed quickly after, leaving Violetscar and Scarstar, or Scartail as he was then known, with only each other. And while Violetscar may have moved on to taking a mate, and was currently heavily expecting her first litter, the two had clearly remained close.

Glimmerwind felt great sadness for the nursing queen, and was somewhat relieved to see Mockingshadow, who was not only the deputy of the clan, but also Violetscar's mate, leave his spot where he had been waiting to address the clan to instead go to his wailing mate. At least she had her mate to be there for her, and he seemed to take that much more seriously than following up any speech Glimmerwind had planned, and she had to admit that he seemed to be getting off to a good start as the soon to be leader of the clan. But Glimmerwind figured she had left enough speaking room for her clanmates, and decided to continue on speaking.

"Scarstar has been in a feverish state for the past several days, and in that time Mockingshadow has stepped up his role as deputy to act as both deputy and leader, and Scarstar informed me toward the end, when he was having a moment of clarity, that he had made a good decision when he asked Mockingshadow to be his new deputy after the retirement of Sparrowear, and I have to say that I whole-heartedly agree. Scarstar may have gone to StarClan now, but he made sure we would be in good paws by choosing the best deputy he could to take his place. So tonight may be a night of mourning for Scarstar, as he was an amazing leader and deserves to be respectfully buried as soon as possible, but HarmonyClan will continue to flourish in the future with Mockingshadow as our leader."

At this, there was another set of murmuring, though it was much shorter. Glimmerwind knew that Mockingshadow was a somewhat unpopular choice in the way of deputies, as he could be very rash and aggressive at times, but she was not known for mincing her words, and her clanmates generally took her opinion into account on a variety of different subjects. She had known this before she had began this clan meeting, and she had made sure to carefully think things over before she spoke to the clan in this way. Mockingshadow had stepped up to his duties in a very graceful manner after Scarstar had taken ill, and Glimmerwind felt he deserved for that to be acknowledged, because like it or not, it was true, and he was the new leader of the clan. She was glad to see that Mockingshadow was giving her a grateful look, and she dipped her head to him before excusing the clan meeting and hopping down.

The clan began to mill about a bit, breaking off into groups, and for the most part making way for their medicine cat to pass through them. She noted Shadowwhispers and Nightsoul following her instructions from before the meeting, and going to retrieve the body of Scarstar from the medicine den to display it for cats to pay their final respects to him and was grateful she didn't have to ask again. She glanced around, studying her clanmates to see if anyone other than Violetscar was in a bad state and struggling to contain their emotions and found none. There were sad glances and somber voices, but for the most part, the clan seemed to have accepted that their leader was dead and that Mockingshadow, popular or not, was going to be the next leader. An apprentice was asking their mentor who they thought would be the next deputy, and there were several cats speculating the answer to that. But there was thankfully no one angrily demanding that Mockingshadow needed to be replaced, no wailing that the clan was doomed, and no general argument.

"If you weren't the medicine cat, I would say you should be the next leader after such a speech." a raspy voice murmured. Glimmerwind glanced over to see Sparrowear settling down beside her, looking tired and sad, but clearly attempting not to show it too much. Glimmerwind purred a bit at her father, knowing he must be in great pain over the loss of such an old friend, but happy to see he was trying to put on a brave face even so late into his retirement, when he didn't need to anymore. Even at his age, Sparrowear was a warrior to the end, and would always try his best to make sure his clanmates were doing as well as possible. Had he not retired, she knew he would be seen as an amazing leader in his own right, even if he only lived to see a few more moons, maybe seasons if he was lucky.

"You say that like I'm some master with words. It wasn't that great, it was really just what I felt needed to be said. I was worried there might be arguments over Mockingshadow, given how controversial his rise to deputy was." Glimmerwind explained softly, glancing toward the dark-furred tom. Sparrowear followed her gaze.

"It was still better than your mentor did when Scarstar became leader. That whole thing was a monster-battle of a time. You wouldn't have been born yet, so you have no idea how much the clan was upset over Scarstar becoming leader with me as his deputy. Everyone felt he was too young... But that changed over time. So will things with Mockingshadow, hopefully. He's young and aggressive now, but I'm sure as time goes on, he'll settle into his place and realize how much talking out issues helps when the alternative is battle." he assured. Glimmerwind nodded in agreement.

"I know that, Sparrowtear, you've told me that story time and time again since you retired." she pointed out, a light purr accompanying her words. Sparrowtear huffed.

"You're the only one of my kits who seems to visit me, so sorry if I repeat myself so much. Tell your brother and sister that just because they're warriors now, doesn't mean they need to act like strangers." he grunted out, looking back at his eldest daughter. Glimmerwind shook her head.

"Please, you act like they listen to me. I'm not their littermate, so it seems like they wrote me off as some random old she-cat long ago, kin or not. Roseear's the only one who really goes out of her way to talk to me, but you know how she is. She was working really hard to try and get to deputy, but she's still never had an apprentice. Mockingshadow won't be able to pick her as his deputy."

"That would be a disaster anyway. Roseear seems to get so easily irritated, Mockingshadow doesn't need that at a time like this."

"But she's still a good warrior. I know she can be rude and act cold at times, but Roseear really cares about the clan. She's just not sure how to show it is all." Glimmerwind replied, glancing down at her paws with worry. Roseear was the one she worried about the most... And come to think of it, she hadn't seen her since she noticed her settling at the back of the crowd of clanmates before she started her announcement. She felt Sparrowear subtly shift closer to her, as if noticing she was upset and wanting to comfort her, and quickly looked back up at her father, whose pale blue eyes were fixed on her. "I'll make sure to tell her to go visit you, alright? I should get to my den and rest a bit. Mockingshadow and I have a long walk, and I think it might take him a bit with Violetscar before he's ready to head out." she pointed out. Sparrowear nodded, sending another glance toward the cat who had succeeded his old position.

"Alright then, Glimmerwind, I'll let you get to that. I think I'll go check on Mockingshadow and Violetscar to give them my condolences on Scarstar's death. I know they were both very close to him." he murmured, standing with a grunt of effort. Glimmerwind watched her father limp off toward the pair, feeling some sorrow as she watched his ragged dark brown pelt heave with effort. Sparrowear would soon follow Scarstar, and then she would be in the same position Violetscar stood now, albeit with her younger siblings Roseear and Stagpelt. But she quickly forced that thought away, now was not the time to be worrying about her father's death. Best to focus on the death that had just taken place and the actions that would need to be taken to get the clan back on track than to get lost in thoughts of deaths that were to come. After all, everyone had a time to go join StarClan.

Glimmerwind padded quickly across the camp, to the little corner where her den was nestled between the nursery and fresh-kill pile. Her den was a fairly good size, an abandoned badger den that had been dug out more to allow her even more space to store her herbs and nest. Of course, it wasn't the biggest den, that would definitely have to be the nursery, but it was enough for what she typically had to deal with. Worst case scenario, the elder's den often was used if there were cats with severe injuries that kept them down for a long time. The real issue would be when she got an apprentice and had to either make more space or deal with a future crisis when they got several cats sick or injured but had to continue accommodating two medicine cats in the same den. And that was truly something she would have to deal with soon.

A few moons ago, Softpelt and Nightsoul had become proud parents to three kits: Lavenderkit, Daisykit, and Bluekit. And since the three had began walking, two things had become clear: Bluekit was blind in one eye and seemed to have several health issues, and Lavenderkit had quickly proved herself to be a destined medicine cat. Glimmerwind had already spoken to Softpelt, Nightsoul, and Mockingshadow about her desire to mentor the young she-kit, and Softpelt had promised to speak with the kit and ask if she wanted to be a medicine cat, which had been good enough confirmation for Glimmerwind. Any cat could see how Lavenderkit felt about the medicine den, and that she would often stare into it when she felt her sisters weren't looking. It was honestly very cute, and Glimmerwind was very excited to later teach her what she would need, and one day be able to proudly watch her apprentice take over her position.

Glimmerwind paused as she stepped into her den, looking around. She had a decent stock of herbs that had been steadily depleting as she had desperately tried to do what she could to make sure Scarstar's passing was either halted or as smooth as possible, and while it was unfortunate that he was now gone, she guessed it would make her outlook on future patients a bit better knowing that she had supplies to treat others that might have a chance at survival, as awful as it sounded. It was practically leafbare at this point, and she wouldn't have any opportunity at all to restock once the snow finally began to fall, which meant that she would need to look into restocking in the next few days with anything that was still alive. She wished she could wait until Lavenderkit became an apprentice so she could show her where the herbs would grow, but by that point the snow would be covering the ground. Besides, there was always next leafbare.

With a sigh, Glimmerwind flopped onto her nest, resting her head on one of her paws as she stared at some of her less-stocked herbs, making mental note of what she would need to get tomorrow, and wishing she could do it now to distract herself more easily. Her mind kept sliding back to Scarstar, even if she tried to fix it on Lavenderkit or herbs, and she didn't notice she was no longer alone until a voice spoke.

"I can't believe what you said at the meeting." Glimmerwind lifted her head to glance at Roseear, who stood at the entrance of her den with an angry look in her green eyes. Her pale golden pelt was practically standing on end, and in general she appeared completely furious to the point it was surprising she was containing herself. Glimmerwind sighed and sat up feeling suddenly very tired and very old. She wished she was able to retire so she wouldn't have to deal with whatever storm Roseear had decided to bring her way.

"I just spoke with Sparrowear, he thinks you and Stagpelt should come see him more often." she noted, deciding she wasn't even going to ask what was wrong. Roseear would tell her anyway. Sure enough, the pale golden tabby stalked toward her, standing tall and glaring into her eyes.

"You know he doesn't believe in StarClan." she growled. Glimmerwind's eyes widened and she stumbled back a few steps, until her back legs were brushing against the wall of her den. She had known about Roseear's distaste toward Mockingshadow, had known about it since Roseear had been an apprentice with the dark tom as her mentor, and had always assumed it had come down to Roseear not liking that she had to bend to any cat's authority. She had no idea that...

"How do you know that?" she asked, her voice soft still with shock, almost as if she was having trouble speaking. Roseear's ears flattened even more and her tail slashed angrily across the den floor.

"Why does it matter? The point is, YOU KNOW and you SAID NOTHING. You're our medicine cat, it's your job to tell your clanmates about problems like this! No wonder StarClan felt the need to tell me, their messenger cat can't even be bothered to alert her clan leader that he needs to choose a deputy who actually believes in them and can receive his nine lives!" Roseear spat, seeming now to vibrate in anger as she stood in front of her sister. Glimmerwind felt her own hackles raise, indignant over the younger she-cat's accusations.

"The fact that you think I'm a mere messenger for StarClan shows how ignorant you are toward medicine cat duties. I am meant to interpret their warnings and advise the leader, and that's exactly what I've done. Mockingshadow's belief or disbelief in StarClan has nothing to do with how well he'll manage his role as clan leader, and I think it's judgmental to say otherwise. He worked hard to get where he is, and Scarstar trusted him. He may have a shorter reign due to not receiving the lives he was promised, but that doesn't mean he'll be any less of a great leader."

"How can you say that!? StarClan has given both of us warnings, so he must be-"

"StarClan doesn't know everything! Mockingshadow's disbelief in StarClan means they can't see what's in his heart. They can't know. And it rightfully scares them. They gave this warning because they want us to keep our eyes on him, not because they have any actual reason to believe he'll do damage to the clan. I admit that I was horrified when I learned too, but I kept my mouth shut because I decided it would be best to reserve judgment until he proved what kind of cat he was. And with how he stepped up after our leader took ill, I think he's proven himself to be a very understanding and hardworking tom. Don't let your personal feelings toward him dictate how you take new information about him, Roseear."

"I just can't believe you! You're going to let Mockingshadow become the next leader of the clan just because you don't want to look rude!?"

"It's not about looking rude, Roseear, it's about giving someone who has done nothing wrong a chance to lead without being harassed for his lack of belief in our ancestors. He wasn't born in the clan like we were, it's understandable he might be a little hesitant to accept the idea that we have ancestors watching over us while his-"

"He joined the clan SEASONS ago, don't treat him like a new recruit. He joined long enough ago that he's been around since before I was born, and he's been around long enough to have become our deputy. If he's going to deny that StarClan exists after serving under the leader and watching him lose lives, then he's just not sane enough to lead this clan."

"I don't know what to tell you, Roseear, he's going to be our leader and you need to accept that. He's not doing anything wrong, he got his position fairly, and you're being irrationally upset by that."

"IRRATIONALLY UPSET!? How dare-"

"Glimmerwind, I think we should- Oh, hello Roseear. I didn't mean to interrupt." The squabbling sister's both turned their gazes toward the very tom they had been speaking of, who now stood in the entrance of the den. His black pelt looked like a shadow blocking out any sunlight, and his dark eyes did legitimately seem startled to see his former apprentice. Roseear's pelt was still bristling, and her eyes were fixed on the black tom with now fading fury. Roseear sighed heavily and shook her head, sending one more irritated glance toward Glimmerwind before she stalked out, brushing roughly past Mockingshadow as she went. The black tom just watched her, his eyes following the pale golden tabby for a long time before he finally looked back to the medicine cat.

"Is everything alright? She seemed... Upset." he noted, somewhat lamely. Glimmerwind felt hot with embarrassment under her fur, realizing just how bad this must look to the older tom. She was the medicine cat, fighting with her younger sister on the day of their leader's death had to have looked incredibly rude and unnecessary to Scarstar's memory. Glimmerwind quickly licked some of her fur flat before she stood and stepped toward Mockingshadow.

"Everything is fine. Roseear is just a little moody today, you know how she gets."

"Of course." Mockingshadow murmured, tail twitching a bit as he gave her a somewhat suspicious look. He could tell she wasn't being completely truthful, and Glimmerwind knew he wasn't worried about her knowing it. Glimmerwind sighed and looked up at Mockingshadow.

"What was it you wanted?" she asked, wondering where Violetscar was. After all, it hadn't been that long since she'd entered her den, and the queen had still appeared to be very upset when she'd watched her father go over to them.

"To become leader, I need to go to Star-cavern and receive my nine lives, correct? I'm ready to start the journey there. I'll need to be back by moonhigh to name my deputy." Mockingshadow responded matter-of-factly, standing tall in the entryway, blocking out even more light unintentionally. Glimmerwind paused for a moment.

"But what about Violetscar? She seemed pretty distraught over her father, don't you want to spend some more time with her? In her condition, so much stress could be bad for her and her kits." she pointed out, still feeling worried for the gray she-cat. Mockingshadow seemed unconcerned as he glanced off in the direction he had come from, presumably toward his mate, though Glimmerwind couldn't be entirely sure.

"Sparrowtear and Softpelt are with her. She'll be fine until I get back. I need to get this over with as soon as possible so I can get back and everything can be settled and back to normal as soon as possible. Don't you think that's what's best for the clan?" he asked, eyes shifting back toward the golden medicine cat. Glimmerwind again hesitated, feeling a bit concerned. Earlier, she had thought his quick jump to comfort his mate had been very noble and kind, but now his sudden urgency to go become the new leader despite any pain his pregnant mate was feeling worried her somewhat... After all, if she was able to have a mate, and was that far along at a time when Sparrowear died, then she would hope that her mate would spend a bit longer by her side comforting her.

But surely Mockingshadow was just trying to do what was best for the clan, right? After all, as the deputy, he might not have the luxury to choose to do what he wanted, and Violetscar must understand that after being raised by a leader herself. No, Glimmerwind was just overthinking this because of her own fight and upset feelings toward Roseear.

"Of course, let's go."

* * *

Glimmerwind paused as she led Mockingshadow up the steep slope, glancing back toward the tom, who stayed just a tail-length behind. The black tom had a hard, determined look on his face, and seemed legitimately eager to get a move on and finish this journey. He did falter when he realized the medicine cat appeared to be hesitating, and took the next few steps before coming to a stop at her side.

"Is something wrong, Glimmerwind?" he asked, sounding a bit nervous. Glimmerwind shook her head and focused her pale blue gaze back ahead, toward the opening in the rocky mountain ahead of her.

"No, everything's fine. I'm just now realizing that this must be your first visit to the Star-cavern. You weren't an apprentice with the clan, so you never had to make the journey here, and Roseear told me you send her with Stagpelt and his mentor instead of bringing her yourself." she explained, sending a curious glance toward the large tom. She wondered if, in the private area of Star-cavern, he would possibly open up and tell her the truth about his beliefs. Honestly, she hoped he would. She hated the thought that he would be dishonest with her when she was his medicine cat and meant to help advise him. But, Mockingshadow only looked on with a blank look, twitching ear being the only hint that he had even heard her.

"I suppose I should have come by long ago, but since I've only been a warrior for the longest time, I never saw a reason I would need to come here myself. It's more of a leader and medicine cat thing, and I never thought I would fill either of those positions." he replied, excuse coming out in a tone that managed to almost sound completely heartfelt. Glimmerwind supposed it might be, but knowing how ambitious and hardworking the tom had always been made his claim of 'not thinking he would ever be leader' somewhat doubtful. But hoping and actually believing were different things, so maybe it was best to take his word on this.

"Well, the Star-cavern is very dark, but it's also a straight line. So, as long as you follow me along the main path, you'll be fine. You'll know when we reach the main cavern. It's the only lit area that we know." she explained, walking slowly forward until they came to the cracked entrance to the cavern. Mockingshadow glanced up, seeming to take in the whole size of the giant mountain. Glimmerwind twitched her tail and slipped into the crack, shivering as the cold walls of the cave seemed to press in on her. While Glimmerwind loved being a medicine cat, and was happy to do most of her duties, this claustrophobic trek through a dark tunnel still made her incredibly uncomfortable. She could still remember coming through here as an apprentice and nearly sobbing as she came to the end, feeling an intense dread as she stumbled through the darkness after her mentor. The seasons had cycled over several times since then, and yet it still clung to the back of her mind when she had to come here, despite knowing there was really nothing to fear.

As she walked through the uncomfortable darkness, she could hear Mockingshadow behind her. His breathing seemed to be kicking up to an almost hyperventilating level, and Glimmerwind felt a slight pang in her heart as her own memory of going through here the first time again flashed through her mind. She lightly touched her tail to him, around the area where she figured his shoulder was, and picked up their pace slightly as she realized just how close he was to her.

"Everything is alright, Mockingshadow. The cavern isn't far now, I'd say we're a little over halfway there." she assured the tom gently. Mockingshadow stiffened a bit under her tail, as if embarrassed that she had somehow noticed, and straighened up a bit, slowing his pace until he could brush her tail off.

"I know. It's just dark and I don't want to fall behind." he insisted, voice quivering only slightly. Glimmerwind sent a glance backward, remembered she couldn't see him and he couldn't see her in the darkness, and faced back forward with a sigh.

"Of course, Mockingshadow. Let's just hurry forward, yeah? It would be best to get back to the clan as soon as possible." she murmured, padding forward through the pitch black darkness.

Finally, the pair came to the Star-cavern. Glimmerwind slipped into the brightly lit area, and sent a glance toward Mockingshadow as he also squeezed out of the tunnel into the main area. The black tom paused where he was and looked around, seeming startled by the sudden light and beauty that surrounded them. The walls around them had shining stones jutting out of them, seeming to be the cause of the light in the cavern. However, the actual cause was a long tunnel that was directly above the middle of the cavern, allowing in a bit of sunlight. It was beautiful in the sunlight, though Glimmerwind liked it best in the moonlight when a full moon rose in the sky.

"What exactly do we do?" Mockingshadow asked, shifting somewhat uncomfortably toward the more well-lit area of the cavern. Glimmerwind followed him toward the center where the light shone through, and settled down, pawing at some of the cold, glittering stones that had clearly been clawed down from the walls. She settled one between her paws as she laid down, and pushed another toward Mockingshadow, who took the stone between his paws and copied Glimmerwind's pose.

"Touch your nose to the stone and close your eyes. Assuming everything goes alright, you should open your eyes to the stars and the ancestors who will give you your nine lives." Glimmerwind instructed, before doing just that. Her nose touched the cold stone and her eyes shut, and then... Nothing. For a long moment, nothing seemed to happen. It made her a bit uneasy, as usually, in the countless times she had done this before, she almost instantly woke in StarClan when she closed her eyes. But now, when she opened her eyes, she was still in the Star-cavern. Worrying that maybe it was because she was too close to Mockingshadow, despite that not making sense and never being a factor before with other cats, she shifted to about a fox-length away and pressed her nose again to the stone and closed her eyes.

Again, there was a long darkness with no sign of StarClan for a long time... And just as Glimmerwind was about to completely panic, she felt the familiar sensation of the ground beneath her changing to a sandy area that was just like the area behind the falls, which was several fox-lengths down where the river seemed to stem from. She had been there before, and noticed a few abandoned dens in the area. StarClan had informed her that long ago it had served as camp for their clan, until a long famine had led to them moving to the camp they lived at now. The area behind the waterfall was still considered a sacred place, though due to its dangerous and difficult to navigate path, it was mostly used by medicine cats as a way to finally prove they were ready to receive their warrior names. It was also, as now, the place where cats tended to wake when they tried to communicate with StarClan.

Slowly pulling herself to a stand, feeling intense relief as she opened her eyes to look toward the waterfall, which she could also hear roaring in her ears. She rose to her paws and glanced around, sighing both in relief and disappointment. While the previous event had scared her, she was happy to see that she had in fact arrived in StarClan... But was also disappointed that Mockingshadow wasn't at her side. While she had known that he didn't believe, she had still somewhat hoped that maybe he would show up... Of course, it had been nonsensical to hope so, but it had been there just the same.

But then she noticed that she was eerily alone.

"Hello?" Glimmerwind called, pacing along the length of the room, hoping she would catch a glimpse of a cat in the shadows. But... Nothing. It was just as empty as when she had visited the actual location before receiving her name. Usually this area would have several cats in it, typically ones ready to pass on a message... Or give a leader their nine lives. But now, it was completely empty, almost cold in a way. Glimmerwind felt the fur along her spine begin to stand on end as she bounded forward.

Outside of the sandy cave was a narrow path that ran just behind the waterfall. It was one of the more dangerous parts of the trek here, as it was made of very slippery, smooth stone. If any limb managed to slip off, there was a high chance that the waterfall could help pull a cat to their death. In fact, it had become the grave for several cats, the last of which had been an unwary apprentice who had slipped and plunged down the fall, followed by their mentor who slipped while trying to grab them. After that, this place had become a spot for medicine cats, who were often much older when they were brought here for their final communication with StarClan before they were accepted the full responsibilities of a medicine cat.

"Is anyone here?" Glimmerwind asked, stepped onto the path and creeping slowly along the stones. The silence was deafening as she padded along the path and came out to the flat space on the other side of the waterfall cave's walls. It was a grassy area, with a few small trees and shrubs scattered around the edge of the area, which thickened to forestland as the land began to slope downward into the mountain. Glimmerwind knew that if she followed the trail down, it would slope through the forest and wrap around the mountain, until it came to the base where the waterfall fell into the river.

There was still no sign of any cats, StarClan or otherwise.

"It's me, Glimmerwind... We're here about Mockingshadow's nine lives?" Glimmerwind didn't know why she was trying, or why she felt so desperate for any other cat to appear... But she was becoming increasingly aware that something was very wrong, and no cat was going to show up. She slowly sat down, feeling her tail tremble with worry as she tried hard not to shake with fear. It was unnerving being here, when there was no other cat, and it was really making her feel like something was terribly wrong... She felt abandoned in a way, like StarClan was turning their back on her... Were they really this concerned about Mockingshadow?

"Can anyone speak to me? I thought I was being cautious enough with watching Mockingshadow, but if I was wrong then I would like for someone to tell me?" she called, no longer able to stop her voice from shaking. She was really getting scared at this point, pulling herself to her paws and practically sprinting down the path that led down the mountain. She looked around desperately for other cat, fur now standing completely on end. She continued to call out as she continued to run as fast as she could, almost flying through the air as she moved faster and faster down the hill.

As she reached the base of the mountain, she skidded to a halt. She was winded from the run, and forced herself a few fox-lengths until she came to the edge of the river. She flopped onto her side and looked down at the water. As she caught her breath, she looked at the shaking image of her face reflected in the lake, trembling. She wasn't sure whether it was fear or just her hard run, but her heard pounded deep in her chest. It was probably both at this point.

After catching her breath, Glimmerwind pulled herself back to her feet and followed along the river. She tried to focus on how peaceful the bubbling river sounded as she followed it, but she couldn't push the pervading fear from her mind. She needed to find someone, ANYONE, whether they would speak to her or not. Even if she could find someone who was angry or ignored her, it would be so much better than just being along in the realm of StarClan with no one else to share her company. She wished that Mockingshadow believed, then he would be here at her side. No matter how she felt about him becoming leader, it would be better to have anyone. She would even take Roseear and her angry yelling at this rate!

Glimmerwind finally came to the point in the river where it was shallow enough for her to wade through it, and she did so quickly. Pulling herself from the river, she started off in a jogging pace toward the HarmonyClan camp. She was desperately sure that someone HAD to be there. After all, it was the camp where many had been born and died at, so even in StarClan, it had to be an important place to them. If there was nobody there, then they were nowhere. Nowhere she knew about, at least. This set firmly in her mind, she hurried off toward the camp, following the paths that she was familiar with after many, many moons of travelling. Her mind was numb and turned off, but she could walk these paths without any focus at all.

When she did reach the camp, she suddenly felt an intense fear and didn't want to enter. What if there was nobody in camp? She wasn't sure she would be able to handle that. But at the same time, not knowing seemed just as horrifying as the fear she felt now. So, putting on a brave face, Glimmerwind pushed through the ferns that grew at the camp entrance between the thickets that made up the camp walls. Inside was the camp she knew and loved, the place she had been born and trained.

And it was completely empty.

She poked her nose into a few dens, hoping that she was wrong and that the StarClan warriors were just hiding. But deep down, she wasn't surprised when she saw that each den she checked was empty, including her own. With a sigh, Glimmerwind stepped into her den and flopped down in the space where her nest was typically held. That spot was empty in StarClan, but she knew the area well enough. She rested her head between her paws and closed her eyes, ready to return back to the Star-cavern when she suddenly heard it.

"Glimmerwind."

It was a very quiet voice, which seemed to be carried on the wind. She couldn't pick out who's voice it was, or even if it was a tom or she-cat. She couldn't even be sure it was only a single voice. But it was there, faint yet clear, and she felt a sudden burst of energy fill her as she stumbled to her paws, nearly tripping over them as she tried to rush out of her den. After catching her footing, Glimmerwind sprinted out into the camp, pausing in the middle and tilting her head, waiting for the voice to speak again. After a long moment, it did.

"Here."

Glimmerwind didn't need to hear another word, she rocketed out of camp as if her tail was on fire, desperate as ever. She needed to talk to someone, and even if she couldn't recognize this cat, she assumed it was just a much more distant ancestor than usual. And that was of no matter to her, so long as she saw another cat. She followed the sound of the voice as best she could, careful to make as little noise as possible, afraid that if she was too loud, the voice would disappear. She would run in spurts, covering a lot of ground and pausing to hear the direction of the voice again before she would run another distance. After a while, she finally came to the Thunderpath and skidded to a halt, listening again for the voice.

At this point, despite still not being able to determine any features of the voice, it did seem to be much closer. Slowly, she crept across the Thunderpath, comfortable with the fact that no monsters would be running down it in StarClan. After a short trek into the trees on the opposite side, now outside what would normally be the borders of HarmonyClan, she came upon a small pond. And just as she paused at the edge, she heard the voice again just beside her, below her.

"After the moon rises, the rose and the lizard will come together at the pond in their final destined reunion."

Glimmerwind blinked in surprise, recoiling slightly as she heard the voice come from the lizard, a prey she had seen others eat so often. Not only was it speaking to her, which she had never heard before, but in such and eerie voice and giving a prophecy? It was so... Odd. She spoke the only words she could think of.

"Excuse me?" she asked, dumbfounded. The lizard only swished it's tail and suddenly lunged toward the pond. Glimmerwind jumped backward for a moment, then suddenly felt the urge to make sure the lizard didn't drown and leaped forward back to the edge of the water. But instead, she saw the lizard was now floating across the pond, on nothing other than a rose, it's tail seeming to push it toward the center of the pond.

Then Glimmerwind noticed something she hadn't before: the moon. As the lizard managed to nonsensically push itself on a strangely floating rose to the center of the pond, the moon seemed to be reflecting in a way where it almost seemed as if the pond was the moon itself. She slowly rose her head and there it was, the moon. It seemed to be much lower in the sky than usual, and so much bigger. She felt her pelt stand on end... Was the moon falling? She knew it was StarClan, but a cold fear still came over her, enough so that she turned and began to sprint off in the opposite direction.

When she suddenly awoke, she lurched to her paws, all fur standing on end. Her breathing was hard to a point where it was painful, and for a long moment she was unsure of where she was. She couldn't even see properly, as her vision was incredibly blurry upon waking. The terror of the moon falling was still fresh in her mind, and while she had been running, the sudden clear change of her surroundings was unnerving.

"Hey... Glimmerwind, are you alright?" Mockingshadow asked, sounding more concerned than Glimmerwind had ever heard before. After a few seconds, Glimmerwind's vision slowly returned to normal. The black tom appeared in her vision, tail puffed out a bit in concern. After gasping in a few ragged breaths, Glimmerwind sat down heavily. She was silent for a long time, breathing slowly returning to normal. Mockingshadow was respectful of the fact that the golden medicine cat needed a moment, and he walked over to sit beside her while. When she seemed calm enough, he tried again.

"Are you okay, Glimmerwind? Is there something wrong?" he asked, voice carefully soft. Glimmerwind sighed heavily one last time.

"Y-Yeah. I'm fine." she whispered. The pair sat in silence for a long time before she spoke again. "I think I've received a prophecy... Though I haven't had proper time to interpret it yet." she explained. Mockingshadow looked to the medicine cat with interest.

"Oh? Is it important?" he asked, curiously. Glimmerwind glanced at him.

"Messages from StarClan usually are."

"I mean in the immediate future of course."

"I'm... Not sure. It had something to do with the moon rising, but... I don't know. Usually I don't get these messages or prophecies on such short notice, if that makes sense."

"Then don't worry about it for now. We'll get back to camp, you can settle down from your... Clearly traumatic meeting... And then we can talk about it tomorrow." Mockingshadow decides, tail slashing in a gesture of finality. The black tom stood, shaking out his long fur, and started toward the exit of the cavern with a now highly confident stride. Glimmerwind pulled herself heavily to her paws, feeling a bit uncomfortable with the fact that Mockingshadow seemed to willing to brush this off... But then again, he didn't believe in StarClan, so he must be looking at this situation similarly to how one would treat a cat who had just had a nightmare.

Without another word, Glimmerwind followed the dark tom out of the cavern.

* * *

Glimmerwind and Mockingshadow walked in silence until about halfway back to camp, when Mockingshadow broke the silence first.

"I just wanted to make sure you're really feeling alright. You're a lot quieter than usual." the dark tom noted, sending a glance toward his golden medicine cat. Her pale blue eyes remained fixed on the ground ahead of her. She was too afraid to glance at the sky, even though the moon had yet to rise. The sky was still a beautiful red from the setting sun, but somehow the idea of anything in the sky was now tainted with her fear of it.

"I guess I'm just tired. It's been a very, very long day." Glimmerwind noted, wondering if she looked anywhere near as old as she suddenly felt. Her father was an elder now, but he hadn't been too old when she had been born. She figured that in about three leafbares in the future, if she was still alive, it would be her own time to settle into the comfortable elder's den. Time seemed to move really fast when you were as busy as she was.

"I can understand that. Visiting StarClan seems to be very tiring based on this visit." Mockingshadow noted, eyes focusing back ahead of them as well as they padded along the familiar forest trails, this time not in the lands of StarClan. Glimmerwind sent a suspicious glance toward her new leader.

"So you received your leader'sname? Nothing strange happened for you?" she asked, knowing the answer but afraid he wouldn't give it to her. Mockingshadow puffed out his chest and slashed his tail.

"Of course! StarClan was more than willing to name me Mockingstar, they felt I'd earned it." the tom boasted, seeming proud. Glimmerwind felt a pang in her heart, not appreciating being lied to so blatantly. She understood why he would need to keep up the appearance for the rest of her clanmates, but as his medicine cat and the main connection he had to StarClan, she wished he would at least tell her with the confidence that she could keep his secret. But he clearly was unaware that Glimmerwind would have been able to at least witness a part of the ceremony if he was actually receiving his nine lives, and that the fact that she had been wandering around and receiving prophecies was a clear sign that something hadn't gone right.

Maybe she deserved it though. After all, wasn't she technically lying to her clanmates by omission? She had told no one that Mockingstar didn't believe in StarClan despite knowing for seasons at this point, but she had decided to do that knowing that others might be less fair to Mockingstar and his accomplishments than she was due to their own bias toward rogues and loners who didn't believe in StarClan. Even so, a lie was a lie. And given the way StarClan had been entirely empty when she was there, they clearly felt she had taken the wrong path. But what was done, was done, and at this point it would be hypocritical to call out Mockingstar for lying to her when she had been doing the same thing, albeit less blatantly.

"So... Do you have anyone in mind for deputy?" Glimmerwind asked, trying to push the thoughts of lying from her mind. Mockingstar's ear twitched, acknowledging that he head heard her. He was silent for a long time, thinking carefully, before he finally answered.

"I was thinking either Nightsoul or Shadowwhispers." he decided, sounding a bit shakey and unsure. Glimmerwind found that a bit strange, as he had been acting so confident before. He had also had a long warning that he might soon be leader, as Scarstar had been sick for a long time. It wasn't until he sent her a full glance that she realized that he was asking for her input on that.

"Oh! Well... Both of them would make very good deputies. Their old apprentices have both shaped up to be great warriors, so I assume they were very good with mentoring and generally handling cats in their care." Glimmerwind pointed out, weighing the pros and cons of the two toms as she tried to come up with who she thought he should pick. It was a very difficult choice, as both Nightsoul and Shadowwhispers were indeed good warriors. Both had recently become fathers, Nightsoul to his first litter and Shadowwhispers to his second. The two were also very good friends, and it was hard for her to separate the two in her mind, other than the fact that Nightsoul was the father of Lavenderpaw.

"I was thinking I would ask around a bit, but those two are the main candidates in my mind." Mockingstar replied, voice sounding much more confident now. Glimmerwind nodded as the camp came into view.

"You do that. It's only sunset now, you have until moonhigh." she reminded him, sending a glance toward the black tom. Mockingstar made a noise of agreement and bounded ahead of her toward the camp. He seemed excited to get back, and Glimmerwind assumed it was because he was ready to get back to Violetscar and make sure she was okay. Glimmerwind allowed herself to lag behind, still feeling very tired and uneasy from her StarClan dream.

Glimmerwind paused about halfway up the slope, looking toward the camp entrance. She took a big intake of breath and held it before she forced herself to turn around and look up at the sky, where she would have a clear view from this spot. The sky was completely normal, still warm from the setting sun. The darkness would begin to settle over the land soon, and then she figured she would need to look again to make sure the moon wasn't doing anything scary. With a final sigh, somewhat of relief that she had been able to make herself look at the sky in general, Glimmerwind turned and padded quickly up to the camp.

Brushing through the ferns, Glimmerwind could see her clanmates were settling down beneath the tree that held the leader's den, Mockingstar settled on the low branch where most announcements were made from. She scanned the edge of the crowd and found Stagpelt was settled toward the back, closest to the entrance. She easily made her way over to him, and settled down at his side, nudging him with her shoulder.

"What's up?" she asked, a bit curious. She had assumed that Mockingstar would go check on Violetscar, poke around for a while, and then worry about calling a clan meeting where he would talk about things and name his deputy. The fact that he was calling a meeting right now was somewhat strange to her. Stagpelt shrugged.

"I have no clue, honestly. Mockingstar basically just showed up, jumped up on the branch, and called a clan meeting. He doesn't seem angry or upset or anything, so I have no idea what this could be about. I was actually kind of hoping that maybe you knew, you were just with him." the tabby pointed out, sending a concerned glance toward his eldest sister. Glimmerwind thought for a moment.

"We were talking about who he might name as his deputy, but he seemed really unsure. Told me he was gonna ask around. But other than that, I have no idea what this could be." she admitted, feeling a bit embarrassed that she was as in the dark as the young warrior. Stagpelt didn't have a chance to respond before Mockingstar had decided that the clan was gathered enough for him to speak.

"Clanmates, I would like to announce that I have just visited the Star-cavern with Glimmerwind and spoken with StarClan. While I was there, I received my nine lives and my new name, Mockingstar rather than Mockingshadow." he began. There was a pause, and a few cats called out his new names, though most only murmured curiously. After all, it was expected that he was to go and be renamed by StarClan, there was no real need to make an announcement like this. But then Mockingshadow continued.

"Not only am I now your leader officially, but I have ALSO received a special blessing from StarClan, and the promise that I will be a great leader for many moons to come! StarClan has blessed me, and told me that they led me and my mother into the clan from lands beyond for a reason. I am to lead the clan into prosperity, and as long as I live, the prey will be plentiful and illness rare!" he boldly proclaimed. There was a long, stunned silence, and Glimmerwind felt a strange horror begin to churn in her belly as the lies grew bolder. She tried to tell herself he was trying to assuage fears, but with such bold lies? This was going beyond that, and it was making her very uncomfortable.

"Mockingstar! Mockingstar!" Violetscar was the first one to begin chanting, and after an uncomfortable few moments, more and more cats began to call their new leader's name to the sky. Stagpelt was among them, but Glimmerwind couldn't bring herself to. She could feel eyes boring into the back of her head, and she was almost sure of who it was. Slowly, she turned her head to catch the green eyes of her sister.

Roseear didn't look angry as she had earlier, when she had confronted Glimmerwind in the medicine cat den. She looked like she was filled with horror. And as the chanting continued to rise around them, Glimmerwind could feel more uncomfortable feelings rising in her chest. She gave her sister what she hoped was a reassuring look and glanced back toward Mockingstar. What was done was done.

Whether she had made the right choice or not would reveal itself in the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just felt like noting this takes place at approximately late November-early December, while chapter 1 will be about April.


	3. Moon - Apprenticed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moonkit is finally named an apprentice. She gets acquainted with her mentor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter names will include the POV character and the chapter title the the format of POV Character - Chapter Title  
> So, Moon - Apprenticed, has Moon as the POV character, and this chapter is about her becoming an apprentice.  
> Moon is the first POV character of three, so next chapter will be another character!

Moonkit tackled Bluekit roughly to the group, biting playfully at the top of her head. The blue-gray she-cat wrestled against her tiny white playmate, kicking her roughly with her hind legs until Moonkit finally released her and rolled away. Bluekit was right on her as she got back to her paws and the pair crashed through the leaves out onto the sandy area right outside of the nursery, each she-cat trying their best to get control of the situation. Neither cat noticed how much dust they were kicking up in their rough fight, as they were both completely focused on trying to win. However, there was always another kit who not only noticed the dirt, but was very quick to call out the pair on their playing.

"Can you two not? I don't want to look dusty in front of all our clan-mates." Mothkit complained, stepping away from where her den-mates had come crashing out of. Bluekit released Moonkit, panting as she stepped away, allowing the white she-cat to stumble back to her paws.

"Sorry Mothkit, I guess we got a little carried away." Bluekit purred cheerfully. Moonkit stood and shook out her dirty white pelt, licking quickly at some stubbornly dirty areas of her pelt. She had always hated being born with such a pale coat, it made her look much dirtier than her sister's golden pelt ever seemed to... Well, that along with the fact that Mothkit had never been much fun, and seemed to avoid dirt and dust like they would kill her if she touched them. Moonkit had found it amusing at one point, but as their apprenticeship had drawn closer, it seemed sadder and sadder. After all, this was the time they had to have fun before it was time for them to work and support their clan! How could Mothkit not just enjoy it?

"Come on, Mothkit, why don't you ever wanna just play? Today's the last day we'll get to really have fun like this together. Me and Bluekit would love for you to join us!" Moonkit offered, slashing her tail and crouching playfully. Bluekit purred in agreement and copied Moonkit's stance.

"Yeah, let's go!" she encouraged, swatting at the air playfully, her gesture inviting Mothkit to come closer. Mothkit rolled her eyes and shifted a few steps back from the two she-cats, looking entirely unamused.

"No way! I've told you before, it's not a fair fight, even if it's only a game. Bluekit is way bigger than us, she should be playing with the apprentices instead. There are no elders to care for, so I'm sure they wouldn't mind babysitting her." Mothkit pointed out, giving Bluekit a somewhat annoyed look. Bluekit instantly dropped her playful stance and just stared at Mothkit, seeming hurt by her words, then glanced toward Moonkit. Predictably, this incited an argument between Moonkit and Mothkit.

"You say that like it's her fault she's still a kit! Mockingstar is the one who won't make her one! You shouldn't be so rude!"

"Me? Rude? I'm just stating the facts! Bluekit is too big to play with us! We're only now getting big enough to really have any chance to play with her, and look at that! It's because we're going to have our apprentice ceremony today!"

"So what, you think I'm lying that it's not Bluekit's fault she's still a kit? Everyone knows it's because Mockingstar's being stubborn!"

"Whoever would have to mentor her would have to figure out how to deal with her blindness, so I can see why he wouldn't want to make a warrior deal with that!"

"She's only half blind! It's not like she can't see at all! Besides, she has great hearing! You try to sneak up on her or something, you wouldn't be able to! So she can make up for being half blind with that! It's not fair for you to act like you're too good to play with her!"

"Moonkit, Mothkit, PLEASE. There's no need to fight, we're all friends here!" Bluekit cut in, stepping between the two she-cats. Moonkit's pelt was bristling, but she said nothing. She was just trying to defend her friend, and if Bluekit wanted this to stop, she would try to let it stop. But Mothkit had never been the type to let something go if she could have the last word on it.

"We're NOT friends, Bluekit. And I'm not friends with Moonkit either! She's so rude, she acts like she's so cool because she gets to play around with the oldest kit in the den! But when it comes to playing nice with Alligatorkit, she's always a jerk!"

"I'm not a jerk, Alligatorkit is! He's so bossy, just cuz his dad is the leader!"

"He is not! If you join in with our games, you gotta play our way! And our way is Alligatorkit always plays clan leader!" Mothkit snapped, tail slashing. Moonkit huffed, but Bluekit placed herself more firmly between the feuding sisters.

"Both of you, I said cut it out! Even if we aren't friends, you're gonna draw a crowd if you keep it up like this!" she hissed, nodding toward the center of camp. Moonkit glanced in that direction, and noticed that there were a few cats talking, though none seemed to have picked up on them squabbling yet. She quickly began to lick at her fur, trying to smooth it back out. Bluekit was right, they needed to calm down. Starting a fight on the day of their apprentice ceremony wouldn't be any good. Mothkit debated for a moment, then let out a hiss of annoyance and brushed past the pair.

"Whatever, do what you want. I'm going to play with Alligatorkit and Snakekit!" she declared, stalking off into the nursery. Moonkit watched her golden tail disappear before looking back to Bluekit apologetically.

"I'm sorry. I know you hate it when cats fight over you." she murmured, continuing to groom her pelt as best she could. Bluekit sighed heavily, glancing off toward the opposite corner of camp, far behind Moonpaw. She knew her friend's eye was fixed on the hollowed log that served as the apprentice den. She had often stared at the den herself, just imagining what it was going to be like to finally be an apprentice. She couldn't imagine waiting an extra two moons like Bluekit had.

"It's alright," Bluekit finally responded. She turned her attention back to her friend and let out a small purr. "It will be good for you two to become apprentices. If you're busy training, you won't have time to annoy each other by being stuck in the den." she pointed out, playfully swatting at her friend's ear. Moonkit ducked away, ears flattening on her head to make sure they weren't hit.

"It won't be the same without you, though." Moonkit insisted. Bluekit tackled her playfully and pinned her.

"Don't be silly! You act like you're going somewhere far away! We can still play whenever you have free time!" she pointed out. Moonkit thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

"I guess you're right! That still won't be very often though."

"Aw, Moonkit, I'm trying my best here."

"I know." Bluekit released Moonkit, who sat up and glanced toward the leader's den, where Mockingstar and Shadowwhispers were deep in conversation. Moonkit tried to be interested enough to wonder what the conversation was about, but her mind continued to drift on to her apprenticeship without her best friend. It just wouldn't feel right if Bluekit wasn't there. They had both waited for two moons, hoping that Mockingstar would reconsider and make Bluekit an apprentice.

Many grown cats in camp had also complained about the tom being unfair toward Bluekit, who in all reality, didn't have that debilitating of a disability. Softpelt had refused to leave the cramped nursery until all her kits were made apprentices, citing that if Snowbird was able to be a half-deaf warrior, Bluekit should be allowed to be a half-blind apprentice. Many cats had offered to take Bluekit as an apprentice, which had put an end to Mockingstar's insistence that Bluekit would burden any mentor he assigned her to. At this point, Calmwind had assured the kits that Mockingstar was just upset that he was wrong, and being stubborn about admitting it. She had also told them that the dark tom would eventually have to put his pride aside and make Bluekit an apprentice, and that would surely have to be during Moonkit's time as an apprentice.

Still, the idea that she would have to potentially spend a few moons getting ahead of Bluekit in training was very disappointing. Moonkit wished that they could be made apprentices together... And maybe they could.

"Hey, Bluekit... What if I told Mockingstar that I wouldn't become an apprentice unless he made you an apprentice too?" she suggested, turning her attention back to the blue-gray she-cat. Bluekit looked startled at the suggestion, then touched.

"That's really nice, Moonkit, but I don't want to ruin your day. You're old enough to be an apprentice, you should be an apprentice. Besides, I don't want to make Mockingstar mad, what if he thinks I set you up to it?" she replied, sounding a bit worried. Moonkit slashed her tail.

"If it makes him mad, it's his own fault for being a jerk!" she snapped, glancing toward the leader, who was now clearly in a quiet, yet angry argument with her father. Bluekit brushed against her, purring softly.

"I'm really happy that you would make the offer, Moonkit. It's one of the nicest things any cat has ever offered to do for me, and I really want to thank you for the offer. But I can't let you do that, Moonkit. I would rather be a kit all by myself than make my best friend stay behind for me. It's like Calmwind said, Mockingstar has to change his mind eventually, he's just being stubborn. I promise that when I become an apprentice, I'll train extra hard so I can catch up with however much I miss while you're an apprentice." she insisted. Moonkit purred and nodded.

"Alright, I'll go ahead and be an apprentice then... But if you change your mind, then I'll stay an apprentice until you can become a warrior, okay?"

"It's a deal!" Bluekit laughed, sounding almost tired. Moonkit could be impossible when she set her mind to something, but she really was insistent on this. Proud that they had worked out some form of deal, Moonkit decided she was going to go look for her mother. She turned and almost ran right into the she-cat she was looking for. Calmwind was purring softly, and it was clear to Moonkit that she had been eavesdropping on their conversation. She flattened her ears and pawed at her mother in an annoyed fashion. Sure, they hadn't really been talking about anything private, but that didn't mean Calmwind could come listen in on them whenever she wanted!

"Calmwind, it's rude to listen to conversations you aren't invited to!" she complained. Calmwind gently licked at her daughter's white ears, looking amused when the she-cat attempted to pull away.

"I know, I know. I just didn't want to interrupt your little negotiation with your friend," she joked, glancing at the sheepish looking Bluekit. She glanced back down at Moonkit. "Lucky for you, Shadowwhispers is already on the case." she added. Moonkit and Bluekit both perked up at that, jumping to their paws and staring up at Calmwind with matching faces.

"On the case for what?" Moonkit asked, curious.

"Is that what he's talking about with Mockingstar? Making me an apprentice?" Bluekit questioned, glancing off toward the leader and deputy, who seemed to be finishing up their conversation as Mockingstar leapt up on the branch where the leader often made announcements from.

"Let all cats old enough to gather beneath the Highbranch, gather together for a clan meeting!" Mockingstar yowled. Moonkit and Bluekit looked to each other, then back up at Calmwind. The older tabby had her eyes fixed on her mate, who was settling on a branch beneath the leader.

"We'll see if he succeeded now." she mewed, nudging Moonkit off in the direction of the Highbranch and beckoning Bluekit to follow with her tail. Moonkit quickly got the hint and padded toward the Towering Tree, a massive tree toward the edge of camp that was primarily the leader's den and the owner of the Highbranch, where all announcements were made during clan meetings. However, it also had a very expansive system of roots, many of which jutted out of the ground on the camp-side while firmly holding below ground on the opposite side, as part of the wall that faced out of camp. Because there wasn't a proper den to hold all the warriors, most slept outside in the moonlight, with only the oldest sleeping in the roots. Rainy days of course sent more cats into the small warrior den, with those who couldn't fit tending to move to the elder's den or even the nursery if needed.

Even so, the Towering Tree was very much a centerpiece to their camp, with cats eating around it or sharing tongues in the roots on normal days. Moonkit even heard that it was easy for young apprentices to navigate through the forest, as they just had to get to a high enough place that they could see the tallest tree, and they would be able to make their way back to camp. It had always fascinated her, and she often wished she could get out of camp just to see if the stories of being able to locate camp from anywhere were true. Maybe today she would finally be able to see for herself!

Moonkit caught sight of Mothkit already at the Towering Tree, wriggling her hindquarters before she leaped up and caught one of the lower branches, pulling herself up. Moonkit was only a few paces behind her as she saw Mothkit leap to the next branch, and she was quick to follow her littermate up into the tree. Mothkit stopped when she was a few branches beneath Mockingstar, settling on a branch near their father. Moonkit climbed up on the branch beside her sister, any squabbling from the past far from her mind as she looked out over her clan-mates. 

Moonkit shivered with excitement, and sent a glance toward her father. She was a bit disappointed at first, seeing that Shadowwhispers was not looking at either of his daughters, but had an irritated look as he stared intensely up at Mockingstar. Moonkit couldn't see the black tom above them, and was too nervous to try and look. She had never seen her father so angry looking before, and it was a bit unnerving to see it now, at her apprentice ceremony. She could hear Mockingstar's large tail slashing against some smaller twigs in the branches above them, but nothing else.

After what felt like an eternity, she heard Mockingstar sigh loudly in annoyance before he finally spoke again.

"Bluekit, you too!"

Moonkit did look up toward the dark tom at that, startled by words she hadn't expected to hear. Her clan-mates seemed to have similar reactions. There were several gasps, but mostly just cheers of approval. Moonkit could very clearly pick out the voice of Daisypaw, who yowled the loudest. Daisypaw was one of Bluekit's two littermates, both of whom had been given their apprentice names at the appropriate time of six moons. Moonkit couldn't see Daisypaw's pelt in the crowd, but she did sight Lavenderpaw, the other littermate, who looked very pleased to finally have her sister joining them after the two moons of waiting.

Bluekit herself was sitting stunned at the edge of the gathered cats, Softpelt and Calmwind at her sides. Softpelt finally nudged her daughter forward, at which point Bluekit seemed to snap out of her stupor and squeal with excitement as she stumble-ran through the cats up to the Towering Tree, scrambling up the branches to take her place next to Moonkit, on a separate branch. The pair looked at each other with excited eyes, happy that the plans and offers Moonkit had made just moments ago were now rendered unimportant. They were going to be apprenticed together, as if they were sisters!

"Now, clan-mates, I'm sure you can all see why we're here. It's the day some of our older kits will finally become apprentices and receive their mentors," Mockingstar began, standing and sweeping his tail out in a gesture of all the kits currently on the branches. Again, Moonkit shivered with excitement, seeing that all her clan-mates were focused on her, Mothkit, and Bluekit. She heard Mockingstar begin to leap down toward them, and watched as Bluekit shifted a bit for Mockingstar to take his place between her and Moonkit. Moonkit shifted a bit herself, noting that Mockingstar seemed a lot bigger up close than he did from far away... Perhaps she hadn't grown as much as she thought.

"Moonkit and Mothkit," Mockingstar continued, turning his back on Bluekit and seeming to completely ignore her. Moonkit found this a bit strange, as she had never seen this happen before during an apprentice ceremony... Was it just because this time if was kits from separate litters? "You are the daughters of our well-beloved deputy. As such, I hope to see great things from both of you in the future, when you are finally full warriors of this clan." he informed them, looking between the two sisters. Moonkit felt Mothkit's pelt brushing against her, as if the golden she-cat was trying to be as close to their leader as she possibly could.

"You will, I'll be the greatest warrior the clan has ever seen!" she declared. Mockingstar purred somewhat in amusement, dipping his head to the excited kit. Moonkit couldn't help but continue to feel uncomfortable, as Bluekit was clearly trying to lean around Mockingstar to look at her den-mates. Different litters or not, Mockingstar ignoring Bluekit couldn't be considered right. After all, it had been rumored that her father had also been considered for the position of deputy, so shouldn't Mockingstar also expect great things from the daughter of Nightsoul?

"Mothkit, you will be known as Mothpaw. And your mentor shall be MY former apprentice, Roseear." Mockingstar declared, turning his attention toward the crowd. Roseear began to zigzag through her clan-mates, coming to meet Mothpaw as she carefully descended the tree. Roseear's pale golden pelt looked very sleek and pretty, just like Mothpaw's. Moonkit couldn't help but feel that Mothpaw had been given a mentor who suited her well, from their similar looks to their ambitious personalities. As the pair reached each other, Roseear lightly touched her nose between Mothpaw's ears in greeting, seeming pleased to have the small she-cat as her apprentice.

"Roseear, I mentored you many moons ago, and I expect for you to pass on your strength and intelligence to your first apprentice. I'm sure you won't disappoint me." Mockingstar finished, slashing his tail before turning toward Moonkit.

"Moonkit, you will be known as Moonpaw, and you will be mentored by Darkfire. I expect you to take after his strength and loyalty." Mockingstar purred, glancing out toward the clan again. Moonpaw easily picked out the large, dark shape that was Darkfire. He seemed a bit rigid as he stood up and started toward the Towering Tree to meet her. Moonpaw carefully scaled her way down the tree as Darkfire pushed out of the crowd to meet her, and ran excitedly to him. He seemed a bit uncomfortable, but Moonpaw assumed that was just because she was his very first apprentice. She was a huge fan of the dark warrior, and had always hoped that he would be her mentor. Bluekit had often poked fun at her for her obvious crush on the quiet warrior, though she had never minded. Darkfire was a handsome warrior after all, Bluekit was just jealous!

After settling down next to her mentor, Moonpaw quickly turned her attention back up toward Bluekit, who looked noticeably left out. Moonpaw was oddly relieved when Mockingstar finally turned his attention to her and began to speak.

"Bluekit, your apprentice ceremony has been put off due to a combination of you both being very sickly when you were small, and the issue of you being blind in one of your eyes," Mockingstar noted. Bluekit twitched a bit, somewhat self-conscious. Moonpaw wanted to jump up and defend her friend, as she usually would when Mothpaw would tease her, but she forced herself to stay where she was. Mockingstar wasn't teasing, after all, he was just explaining why things were the way they were. It must have been why he excluded Bluekit from her and her sister's apprentice ceremony, because he had other things to address that were specific to Bluekit.

"However, it has come to my attention that my judgment may have been... A bit rash. You deserve a chance to prove that you can be a useful warrior to this clan, and I have decided it is time to give you that opportunity," Mockingstar declared. Moonpaw huffed a bit, put off by that. She needed to prove she was useful? Technically, didn't all apprentices have to find their place and prove they were useful to the clan? It was odd that he seemed to be focused on Bluekit specifically at this point. She glanced at Darkfire to gauge what he seemed to think, but he looked as stoic as ever as he stared up at Mockingstar.

"Thank you, Mockingstar. I'll do my best not to disappoint you." Bluekit promised. Mockingstar nodded and straightened up, looking out at the gathered cats, as if thinking about something. The pause was long, and somewhat uncomfortable, and Moonpaw realized after a moment that Mockingstar was just now picking out a mentor for Bluekit. Hadn't he had two extra moons to figure out who would be good for her? Even if he hadn't planned to do it today, hadn't he at least thought about it before?

"Right! Bluekit, you will be known as Bluepaw, and you will be mentored by Silverheart." he decided. Bluepaw leapt down from the branch and made her way toward Silverheart, who happily met her just a few tail-lengths from where Moonpaw sat with her mentor. Despite being a bit annoyed that Mockingstar had clearly put little thought into Bluepaw's apprentice ceremony, she was happy that Bluepaw had gotten Silverheart as a mentor. Silverheart was Moonpaw's older sister, from Calmwind and Shadowwhisper's first litter. She knew Silverheart would be a good, patient mentor for Bluepaw, and that the pair would get along very well. Silverheart was a bit more assertive than Bluepaw, but other than that, the pair had very similar easy-going personalities that Moonpaw had no doubt would work well together.

"Silverheart, I expect you to pass on your patience and hunting prowess to your apprentice. That's all for this clan meeting, I want our new apprentices to get started as soon as possible," Mockingstar finished, leaping back up to one of the higher branches before disappearing into his den. Moonpaw hopped up and followed Darkfire over to Silverheart, and waited as they were also joined by Roseear and Mothpaw. Bluepaw purred and nudged Moonpaw with her shoulder playfully.

"Calmwind was right! Shadowwhispers must have talked to Mockingstar about me becoming an apprentice!" Bluepaw purred happily. Moonpaw purred and nudged her back.

"I'm happy for you, Bluepaw! It's going to be amazing to train together!" she agreed. Bluepaw puffed out her chest proudly and glanced up toward Silverheart.

"What are we gonna do first? Can we bring Moonpaw with us?" she asked excitedly, hopping to her paws. Silverheart hesitated, glancing between the other two warriors. Roseear stretched out her legs and glanced toward the blue-gray apprentice.

"I was thinking all three of us could stay together, so long as everyone is alright with that." she suggested. Darkfire twitched his ear and hesitated, before shrugging quietly. Silverheart seemed to perk up at the suggestion.

"I would love to! All three of these apprentices need to be given a proper tour, might as well knock it out for all three at once!" she purred. Darkfire said nothing, just remained crouched as he allowed the two she-cats to figure out what they wanted to do. It was clear he was still very uncomfortable being around the apprentices, as he periodically glanced at Moonpaw, and his gaze would often flicker up toward the leader's den. Moonpaw wondered if he was unhappy with being her mentor, and not just unsure what to do with his first apprentice.

"Then that's what we'll do. Come Mothpaw, follow me." Roseear ordered, standing and starting off toward the camp entrance. Silverheart began to follow, then paused as she watched Darkfire stand.

"Are you alright with that too? You didn't agree." she pointed out.

"I didn't disagree. We can do the tour, I don't mind." Darkfire responded, shaking out his fur and padding off after Roseear. Silverheart purred, seeming satisfied with that response. She glanced toward the apprentices and gestured toward the exiting warriors, wanting them to follow. Moonpaw purred and bounded after her mentor, Bluepaw just behind her as Silverheart took up the rear. As Moonpaw slipped out of camp after her mentor, she couldn't help but shiver with excitement. She was finally able to leave camp and explore!

As Moonpaw stepped out and looked around, she was amazed by how open the area was. She had assumed that with how huge the Towering Tree was, that there would be a much thicker forested area immediately outside of camp. Instead, the area was sparsely populated with a few trees, but for the most part was very open as it sloped downward. Moonpaw carefully padded down along the slope after the other two cats, feeling Bluepaw's pelt brush against hers as she caught up.

"I didn't realize the camp was on a hill." Bluekit noted, back toward the camp. Moonpaw felt Silverheart catch up to her other side.

"That's understandable. We live near the slopes, but not on them. So camp is on flat ground. If you followed around the thicket to the opposite wall of camp, you would see that the land beyond is flat with more trees. I imagine Roseear is going to lead us down toward the river, then we'll follow that toward the Thunderpath and circle back up and around to get a good perimeter around the camp. That's where most of our training will take place for the next few moons. As you get older, we'll take you out more toward the Star-cavern." she explained. Moonkit perked her ears and glanced toward the gray warrior.

"Don't we get to meet StarClan warriors one day?" she asked curiously. Silverheart dipped her head.

"Of course! Before any apprentice becomes a warrior, they must visit the Star-cavern with their mentor at least once. That's pretty far in the future for you, though, so we'll worry about that when we get there." she replied.

"Lavenderpaw says she visits StarClan all the time and it's really cool! She's a medicine cat though, so I guess it's really different." Bluepaw purred. Silverheart nodded in agreement.

"Even though we get to visit StarClan, we usually don't get prophecies. We just get to meet a StarClan warrior."

"What warrior did you meet?" Moonpaw asked.

"We're not supposed to talk about it, actually. I know enough that it's different from what the medicine cats do, but that's about all I know. I'm sure you could ask Lavenderpaw or Glimmerwind exactly how different it is, though I can't guarantee they'll be able to tell you much more." she explained. Moonpaw decided this was enough for now, and pushed it to the back of her mind. She would worry about talking to Lavenderpaw later.

As the group came to the bottom of the hill, the trees became much thicker. The path seemed much clearer, as it seemed to be more outlined by the needles on the ground from the tall pine trees surrounding them. Darkfire was waiting for them at the bottom of the slope, Roseear and Mothpaw far off in the distance. Silverheart's ears perked when she realized Darkfire was waiting for them.

"Is something wrong?" Silverheart asked, tail twitching as she padded ahead of the two apprentices.

"No, just waiting for my apprentice to catch up." he noted, fixing his eyes on the white she-cat. He seemed a lot more relaxed now that they were out in the forest, away from camp. Moonpaw wondered why that was, but decided to just roll with it as she bounded up to the dark tom.

"Hey Darkfire!" she greeted happily. Darkfire turned and started off after Roseear and Mothpaw.

"Hey Moonpaw. Keep up." he ordered. Moonpaw's ears and tail drooped a bit, but she quickly padded forward to walk alongside her mentor.

"So I know we have to explore the territory today, but when are we going to start learning fighting moves?" she asked curiously. Darkfire was quiet for a moment, and Moonpaw almost thought he had somehow not heard her. Before she could repeat her question, he finally responded.

"Tomorrow we will go over the basics of hunting. So the day after tomorrow will be when you begin to learn how to fight."

* * *

The tour went on from there with minimal talking. Moonpaw was a bit disappointed that her mentor seemed to take any exit from a conversation that he could, having hoped that he would become more friendly if they had a chance to really talk. She figured the mystery was part of what drew her to Darkfire, but she was already beginning to suspect that the mystery was nonexistent, and her mentor was just a cat who didn't like to talk a lot. If that was the case, then she had a feeling she was going to be in for a very long, awkward apprenticeship with a mentor who didn't even really like her.

Interestingly enough, it became evident very quickly that there might be a bit of tension in the group. When they reached the river, Moonpaw noticed that Darkfire tensed when he came to the waiting Roseear and Mothpaw. Roseear didn't even acknowledge the tom, and seemed to be staring off in the direction of Silverheart and Bluepaw, who were a few paces behind them.

"There you are! I didn't know an amazing huntress like yourself could be so slow." Roseear teased as Silverheart came to a stop in front of her, at Moonpaw's opposite side.

"Sorry about that, I kept getting distracted pointing out my favorite hunting spots to Bluepaw. I hope I didn't leave you, Darkfire, and the apprentices waiting to long." she apologized, glancing between Roseear and Darkfire.

"We just arrived as well. Roseear's giving you a hard time because she can't slow down to give her apprentice time to breathe." he responded. Roseear's gaze flicked over to Darkfire for the first time, ears flat and tail whacking the ground.

"Some of us are actually trying to get our apprentices back to camp by sundown, thank you very much." she retorted. Darkfire returned her gaze, icy blue meeting fierce green.

"They were kits just this morning. You'll tire them out before we even get back to camp at your pace, and I would rather not have to carry my apprentice back like I'm a queen gathering naughty kits."

"We won't get tired! We're not kits, we can handle a run through the territory!" Mothpaw cut in, jumping to her mentor's side. Roseear straightened up proudly, her face almost smug looking. Moonpaw decided it might be best to side with Darkfire on this one, she liked taking the tour slow.

"Just because we can handle a run, doesn't mean we should! Silverheart is pointing out good hunting spots to Bluepaw, I think it would be good for us all to really be able to really see the territory instead of rushing through it."

"Moonpaw, I appreciate the input, but this isn't your concern. Unlike SOME warriors, I don't need my apprentice to fight my battles for me." Darkfire growled. Roseear's tail slashed and Moonpaw noticed her claws were sheathing and unsheathing. Mothpaw puffed up as well, seeming offended by Darkfire's words. Silverheart quickly jumped between the two warriors, tail puffed and eyes wide with concern.

"Woah, woah! Can you not do this in front of the apprentices? I know you don't like each other, but we need to be civil for their sake." she insisted, looking desperately between the two. Roseear huffed and looked away from, down the river.

"Let's get a move on. Whatever pace we continue at, any walking will be better than just standing in one place." she muttered, padding off. Mothpaw sent an annoyed look at Darkfire before she quickly followed after her mentor. Silverheart relaxed quickly, seeming relieved that the cats didn't continue their fight, and looked to Darkfire.

"Would you and Moonpaw like to bring up the rear? No offense, but-"

"Whatever keeps me farthest from Roseear, I'm fine with." Darkfire growled, flexing his own claws as he glanced after the golden tabby. Silverheart dipped her head and tapped Bluepaw with her tail in encouragement to follow as she bounded off. Darkfire waited for a moment before glancing at Moonpaw and nodding after the gray she-cats. Moonpaw padded off after Silverheart and Bluepaw, feeling a bit tense still. She had never known that Darkfire and Roseear had so much anger toward each other, otherwise she would have felt more concern when she realized that she and her sister had been given to them as apprentices.

But why would Mockingstar have given littermates to a pair of mentors who had such a clear dislike for each other? She had noticed that a lot of the older apprentices tended to train with their littermates. Her father was the mentor of Bearpaw, and she often heard him talking about the progress of Bearpaw and Applepaw together. They were littermates, along with their sister Wolfclaw. Were they just exceptions to the rule? If so, it was very odd, because it seemed like it would be best for any apprentice to be able to train with a cat who had about the same training as them.

All that aside, Moonpaw honestly couldn't say she was too disappointed about the likelihood that she wouldn't be training with her sister. Mothpaw had a habit of trying to bring her and Bluepaw down after all, as she had always preferred the company of Alligatorkit and Snakekit. And like Bluepaw had said earlier, being separated would likely be better for her relationship with Mothpaw, because they wouldn't have as much time to annoy each other.

Moonpaw snapped out of her thoughts as she heard a loud noise off in the distance. She paused, and Darkfire began to brush past her until he noticed her stopped. His ears pricked for a moment and he nudged Moonpaw to continue.

"Those are just the monsters. Some roar louder than others as they run down the Thunderpath." he assured her. Moonpaw kept pace with her mentor as they continued to follow the river,

"Calmwind told me the monsters always stay on the Thunderpath... But that it's still dangerous to get too close." she informed him. Darkfire twitched his ear.

"It can be very dangerous. Sometimes they get dangerously close to the edge of the path, but we'll be careful to keep a safe distance," he promised. He dropped his voice as he continued. "Calmwind and Shadowwhispers are particularly wary of the Thunderpath because of what happened to Silverheart's littermate." he explained softly. Moonpaw looked to her mentor in surprise. Silverheart had a littermate? She had never heard about that before.

"I thought Silverheart was the only kit in her litter."

"No, she had a brother. You had a brother. Bouncepaw. He died back when Silverheart was an apprentice, and I remember everyone being devastated. It's still a really painful memory to bring up, especially when it comes to Silverheart."

"Was he killed because he got too close to the Thunderpath?"

"He was out hunting with Bonesnap one night, and ended up chasing a mouse toward the Thunderpath. From what Bonesnap said, he was only a fox-length or so from the edge of the path when he caught it. This was further up on the opposite end of the territory, where the trees are a lot closer together and the prey tends to be more plentiful. He said that they were comfortable enough with their distance from the path that they were talking when a monster came running erratically toward them. Bonesnap got out of the way, and Bouncepaw tried to as well, but apparently wasn't fast enough,"

"Bouncepaw was dead when Bonesnap got back to him. He went to get Glimmerwind, and apparently saw that the monster had run into a tree. Glimmerwind said that when she got there, it was still there, but not growling anymore. She thinks it tripped off the Thunderpath and cracked its head on the tree. Since Bonesnap said it was acting strange before it even ran toward them, she says that it was probably running from something. Maybe it was scared," Darkfire murmured, pausing as they stopped a few fox-lengths from the group. The sleek black Thunderpath was now in view, but Darkfire seemed to want to hang back from the group, even though they were also a good distance from it.

"The monsters can be scared of something? I wouldn't wanna see what scares things that big." Moonpaw murmured, shivering as she heard the sound of one approach. Her eyes widened as she saw just how big it was, bigger than she had ever imagined even in stories and descriptions she had heard from warriors. No wonder it killed an apprentice so easily, she doubted a warrior could stand up to something even half the size of one!

"Agreed."

* * *

From there, most of the tour continued without major incident. Roseear and Darkfire constantly kept distance between themselves, and Silverheart tried her best to always be between them, and to remain cheerful. Moonpaw felt bad for the young warrior, she seemed to be desperately trying to make sure everyone was getting along fine despite the clear tension in the air every time Darkfire or Roseear spoke. In fact, watching the she-cat work so hard almost made her feel exhausted herself! So she wasn't complaining when they finally arrived back at camp and were told they could go eat.

Moonpaw trotted up the slope, pausing as she came near the camp entrance. Mothpaw ignored her as she brushed past, into the camp, but Bluepaw purred when she noticed she had waited for her.

"Sorry, I just wanted to thank Silverheart for the tour." she explained. Moonpaw glanced down the slope toward Darkfire, who was currently disappearing around the corner as he trotted off to hunt.

"Oh, I probably should have done that too... I guess I'll tell him next time I see him." she decided, twitching her ear as she brushed past her friend to enter camp. She heard Bluepaw follow her eagerly.

"I can't wait to get some food in my belly! I hope there's a nice, juicy mouse waiting for me." Bluepaw purred. Moonpaw laughed in amusement as she led the way toward the fresh-kill pile, situated between the medicine cat burrow and the apprentice den.

"Darkfire said it was a good season for hunting, and the pile looks pretty full. I'm sure you'll find something good, even if it's not a mouse." she pointed out, pausing as she came to the pile. She studied it for a moment, watching as Bluepaw easily located and grabbed the first mouse she saw on the pile. Moonpaw decided to eat a vole, which she promptly took between her jaws as Bluepaw bounded off. Moonpaw glanced after her, noting that she was going over to her sisters and debated on whether she should follow her or not. She was sure Bluepaw would want time to catch up properly with her sisters, maybe she should give her space to do so?

Mothpaw was already on the other side of camp, settled between Violetscar and her kits. Typical Mothpaw, always spending her spare time with Alligatorkit and Snakekit. Moonpaw's gaze flicked back over to Bluepaw, who was now settling down with Lavenderpaw and Daisypaw. This time she noticed Stripepaw was settled over with the group, and felt relieved. If Stripepaw was with them, then Moonpaw could surely join them. This was further confirmed when Stripepaw saw her and flicked her tail in a beckoning motion, which Moonpaw quickly obeyed.

Moonpaw settled happily down between Stripepaw and Bluepaw, taking a quick bite of her vole. Bluepaw was already happily chatting away with her sisters, and Moonpaw felt a slight pang at seeing how happy they were together. When Lavenderpaw and Daisypaw were still in the nursery with Bluepaw, they had always played together as a trio. Moonpaw had been trying to play with Mothpaw and Alligatorpaw, or Stripepaw. Stripepaw had been one of her friends back when they were kits, since she was a lot easier to talk to than Mothpaw and was only about half a moon older than her.

"Hey, Stripepaw, been a long time since we've talked." she greeted, turning her attention to the brown and white tabby. Stripepaw purred.

"I guess it has. How was your first day as an apprentice?" she asked, tearing into her mouse. Moonpaw thought for a moment.

"Alright, I suppose. Darkfire and Roseear don't really get along." she replied. Stripepaw nodded, glancing toward the camp entrance as Roseear and Silverheart brushed in, not seeming to break in their conversation as they walked.

"Anyone could tell you that. Firefoot says they were put together on a patrol with her one time when they were first made warriors, and she had to literally stand between them to make sure they wouldn't attack one another."

Moonpaw winced. "Silverheart had to do that today, too. It was really awkward, I hope that we don't have to train with them." she admitted. Stripepaw purred.

"You probably won't. Mentors get to decide on these things, and even if Shadowwhispers had to arrange them, he would make sure not to put Darkfire and Roseear together again. It's honestly kind of weird that Mockingstar would choose them. I would have guessed you were going to Stagpelt after Mothpaw was given to Roseear. Aside from cases like the medicine cat getting an apprentice and Bearpaw going to Shadowwhispers, it seems like new apprentices usually get apprenticed to cats about the same age. I mean, maybe it's a Mockingstar thing, but I've noticed it." she explained.

Moonpaw nodded in agreement, that made enough sense to her. Apprentices the same age had mentors who were the same age and generally got along. Even if it was just a Mockingstar thing, Moonpaw could see how that would be helpful to group training, particular when it came to fighting. It would be fun to train with littermates, and it would be great to hear stories about her mentor's apprenticeship, which could also come from training with cats around his age. Moonpaw had already heard about a story surrounding Silverheart from Darkfire, about a brother she had never even known existed, after all!

Stripepaw shifted beside her and stood, stretching out her legs and shaking out her fur. "I think I'm about to go to sleep for the night. Want me to show you the nest we put together for you?" she offered. Moonpaw nodded and swallowed down the last few bites of her prey before pulling herself to her paws. She hadn't noticed it before, but she was feeling quite tired after a long day of walking. Stripepaw padded over to the hollowed out shell of a log that served as the apprentice den. Inside, there were several little nests neatly set up in little groups. Stripepaw padded over to one end of the den and gestured to three freshly made nests pressed up near the walls.

"Those two are yours and Mothpaw's, this one is Bluepaw's. Daisypaw and I worked on them this morning before sunrise, since we had a lesson on night hunting yesterday." she explained proudly. Moonpaw climbed into the center nest, deciding Mothpaw would likely prefer the corner nest anyway, and settled comfortably in with a sigh.

"That's really strange, I thought that Mockingstar's ceremony for Bluepaw seemed a little spontaneous, but I guess if you two knew before... I must have just been mistaken." she murmured tiredly. Stripepaw shook her head.

"Not at all. We had no clue Bluepaw was going to be made an apprentice today. Daisypaw just made it a point to always have a fresh nest for whenever Bluepaw would finally join her in apprenticeship." Stripepaw informed her, turning and picking her way around the den until she came to her nest, which she crawled into. Moonpaw watched her, a bit shocked by that revelation. She had never known that Daisypaw was so thoughtful, she had always heard so many complaints about how impulsive the green-eyed she-cat was. Then again, Daisypaw had always seemed to be very close to both of her sisters, and Bluepaw had always seemed to talk about Daisypaw much more than she spoke about Lavenderpaw. Moonpaw had figured that was because Lavenderpaw was training to be a medicine cat while her sisters were warriors, but maybe they were just closer than she had originally thought.

Moonpaw felt a bit troubled. She knew it was silly, but she was now worrying about just how close her and Bluepaw would be able to remain. Her friend didn't seem like the type to drop friends just because she was closer to someone else, but maybe... If Mothpaw could be completely uninterested in a friendship with her sister, then why would Bluepaw feel any need to have friends outside her kin who she got along with so well? Moonpaw rested her head between her paws and closed her eyes, twitching her ears. She was worrying too much. Bluepaw had been very excited about hanging out with her sisters now, but that was just the new excitement of being apprenticed with them. Things were changing, but nothing pointed to Bluepaw not wanting to be friends anymore. Moonpaw was just being paranoid because she was tired and over-thinking things.

"Moonpaw?" The white she-cat's eyes snapped open at the voice of the very cat she had been thinking of. She rose her head to see Bluepaw slipping into the den, Daisypaw just behind her.

"What is it?" Moonpaw asked, watching as Bluepaw carefully picked her way over, careful not to step on any of the other nests. Bluepaw looked down at her, purring slightly.

"What are you doing in here? Don't you wanna wait to meet the other apprentices?" she asked. Daisypaw padded over.

"Actually, Moonpaw has the right idea. You two should both get some sleep, you'll have plenty of time to meet Applepaw and Bearpaw later. You have a long day ahead of you, and it would be best to get as much sleep as you can to prepare for it." she pointed out. Bluepaw glanced at her sister, appearing disappointed.

"But Daisypaw, that's no fun!" she complained. Daisypaw crawled into her nest, tapping Bluepaw's nest with her tail.

"Being an apprentice isn't about what's fun, it's about learning responsibility. And one of your first responsibilities, is learning to make yourself go to sleep so you'll have energy to work tomorrow." she stated firmly. Moonpaw couldn't help but think she sounded a lot like she was a mentor already, and purred a bit in amusement.

"Aren't you tired anyway? I'm exhausted." Moonpaw admitted, tapping Bluepaw's nest with her paw in further encouragement. Bluepaw, seeing she was out-numbered, huffed as she sank into her spot and curled up.

"Fine. We can sleep." she agreed, though clearly unwillingly. Daisypaw purred in amusement as she settled contentedly in her spot and began to quietly groom herself. Moonpaw snuggled up in her nest, feeling better than she had a few moments earlier. She had been being silly.

"Good night, Bluepaw." she murmured.

"Good night."


	4. Apple - Sparring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Applepaw and Bearpaw spar with Moonpaw. He's not a big fan.

Applepaw followed Bearpaw easily through the forest, toward the large clearing that they always used when they had to spar. Applepaw was a bit bummed out at the moment, as this was the first sparring match he would be having without Wolfclaw and Turtleshell, who had very suddenly been named warriors about four mornings ago. It had struck him as very strange, given the age of the two. Wolfclaw was his and Bearpaw's littermate, surely they were just as prepared to be warriors as she was. And Turtleshell was about a moon and a half younger! None of it made sense to him... Until earlier this morning, when he had overheard Daisypaw and Bonesnap talking while they waited for Mothpaw and Roseear outside the apprentice den.

Applepaw had been watching Wolfclaw and Lavenderpaw chatting quietly across the camp, and apparently he hadn't been the only one. Bonesnap at some point asked Daisypaw if she knew what the deal had been with Wolfclaw and Turtleshell, since neither had seemed fully ready to become a warrior. Daisypaw had responded that she wasn't sure, but she had a feeling that Wolfclaw might be expecting. Bonesnap hadn't seemed to understand what she meant, and she had quickly brushed it off as unimportant, but it had really struck a chord with him.

Wolfclaw and Turtleshell had always spent a lot of time together, and Applepaw had often been annoyed as his friend flirted shamelessly with his sister when they were supposed to be training. The idea that they might have kits in the future was not exactly far-fetched. But now? The whole group was very young, and as Firefoot often said, 'practically kits themselves'. Applepaw felt his stomach churn uncomfortably at the idea of his sister having kits. He couldn't imagine being a father any time soon, let alone being the cat to actually give birth.

"What's wrong with you?" Bearpaw asked. Applepaw's gaze snapped to his brother, startled, and he shook his head.

"Nothing. Why?" he asked, pushing the thought to the back of his mind. Daisypaw had only said that she was guessing, it wasn't like anyone had told him for sure that Wolfclaw was expecting kits. Bonesnap hadn't even understood what Daisypaw was saying, so clearly it was highly unlikely if warriors weren't even considering it. Besides, he would be able to talk to Turtleshell later, he could ask him about it later.

"You just look all... I dunno, troubled? I mean, I get that you're usually in a bad mood, but..." Bearpaw hesitated, as if looking for the words. Applepaw padded along beside his brother, sighing deeply.

"It's nothing. Guess I'm just a little bummed Wolfclaw and Turtleshell aren't with us." he murmured, figuring it was close enough to the truth to not completely be a lie. Bearpaw nodded in understanding.

"Yeah. It's gonna be really boring not having anyone as strong as me to practice with." he murmured. Applepaw's tail slashed and he huffed, roughly bumping his shoulder into the dark brown tom's side.

"Excuse you, you're looking at a tom capable of sending you to StarClan. You better watch what you say."

"Please, we both know you're a hunter, not a fighter. I bet half the kits in the nursery could knock you flat."

"Me also being a better hunter than you has nothing to do with me winning a fight. You'll see."

"Fair enough. We'll see who wins when we get there. Whoever loses has to clean out the old bedding with the younger apprentices tomorrow night." Bearpaw declared. Applepaw faltered at this.

"I don't know about that... This is just a fun spar after all." he pointed out. Bearpaw purred.

"Oh yeah? Where did all your bravado go?" he teased. Applepaw huffed.

"Maybe I'm just trying to be nice to you. Wouldn't want you to be stuck with a bunch of almost-kits."

"Alright." Bearpaw replied, seeming amused and like he clearly didn't believe his brother. Applepaw cuffed his ear and bounded ahead, coming to the bottom of the slope and turning to run along the river. He heard Bearpaw start to run after him, and Applepaw quickly picked up his pace. He was well aware that Bearpaw could beat him in a fight, but he knew he could beat the larger tom in a race. Bearpaw quickly seemed to pick up on that, and also picked up his own pace.

"Hey, no fair! You got a head start!" he called, his paw-steps loud enough that it seemed to drown out his voice. Applepaw purred in amusement and dropped his pace until he was side by side with Bearpaw.

"Alright then, there goes by head start. Race starts now!" Applepaw laughed, kicking back up into a sprint. He heard Bearpaw trying to pick up speed behind him, and pushed himself to move faster. The trees rushed past him, but his paws easily kept on the path that he had followed over the past several moons. His eyes were focused in front of him, and he suddenly burst through the undergrowth into the training area.

He skidded roughly across the sand, coming to a stop in front of a large gray-black tom. He was startled for a moment, before realizing that it was only Darkfire with his apprentice, Moonpaw. Applepaw panted, heart pounding in his chest as he caught his breath. He heard Bearpaw enter quickly behind him, though the tom was moving at a slow enough speed to come to an easy stop. Hazelflight and Shadowwhispers followed close behind.

"I forgot how fast you can be, relax Applepaw." Hazelflight called, purring in amusement. Applepaw glanced back at his mentor, still panting, and saw she was giving him a teasing look. Shadowwhisper's glanced toward his apprentice before noticing that Darkfire and Moonpaw were hardly a whisker-length from Applepaw, and made his way over.

"Darkfire! Funny seeing you here, I thought all the new apprentices were out hunting." he noted, sending a glance toward Moonpaw. Applepaw remembered Moonpaw as being one of the smaller kits in the nursery back when he became an apprentice. He had been apprenticed just before leaf-bare, and she had been born shortly before in leaf-fall. Given the large gap in age, he had never really been close to the white she-cat, or her sister. It was very odd to think about though, as it hadn't felt like that much time had passed through his apprenticeship. Maybe Wolfclaw and Turtleshell weren't made warriors as incredibly early as he had originally thought.

"We were just going over the basics of fighting. I wanted to go over the basics for the first few days to see where Moonpaw's strengths lie. Fighting seems to be one of them." Darkfire explained, sitting and wrapping his tail around his paws. Shadowwhispers purred and looked at his pale daughter fondly.

"She always was the toughest little kit in the nursery, it's good she'll be able to put that into serving her clan." he decided. Darkfire dipped his head in agreement as Hazelflight joined the two toms.

"Bearpaw and Applepaw are going to be sparring today, perhaps Moonpaw would like to join in? She's much younger than these two, but maybe it will help her learn more." she offered, glancing between the mentor and apprentice. Moonpaw perked up at that and looked to Darkfire, amber eyes sparkling. Darkfire closed his eyes, thinking it over for a moment before sighing.

"Of course. As long as your apprentices keep her age and size in mind, there shouldn't be a problem." he decided. Shadowwhispers purred, glancing warmly at his daughter again before settling down into planning out how the session would go, listening to the other mentors' input. Applepaw decided that this wouldn't be very interesting to listen to, and padded back over to his brother. He settled beside the huge tom and yawned.

"Looks like we have to spar with a kit." he mumbled, somewhat annoyed. Why did Hazelflight and Shadowwhispers want to train with Moonpaw and Darkfire? Most cats weren't very friendly with Darkfire, as he clearly preferred being on his own, and Moonpaw was so much younger than them. Maybe she would learn more, but it would be at his and Bearpaw's expense! At the same time, Applepaw did suppose it made sense. Of course Hazelflight and Shadowwhispers were going to be nice enough to expand the group again, they were used to having two other warriors and apprentices to spend time with. Still, today seemed like it was going to be a boring, waste of a day now.

"Aw, be nice. Moonpaw's six moons, just like we were once." Bearpaw pointed out, nudging Applepaw with his shoulder. Applepaw huffed and glanced up in time to see Moonpaw slip away from the warriors and pad over to them. He noted with dismay that her pelt was only barely ruffled, and slightly dusty. Maybe she had practiced a few moves with Darkfire before they had arrived, but it wouldn't have been anything too big. They would have to fight an apprentice who hadn't even had a proper first fight!

"Morning Bearpaw! Applepaw!" Moonpaw greeted, coming to a stop in front of them. Now in front of Bearpaw, Applepaw could really tell how tiny the she-cat was. Applepaw hated to admit it, but he was fairly small when compared to a lot of the other toms. Turtleshell and Stagpelt were the only ones anywhere close to his size. Meanwhile, Bearpaw was one of the more massive toms in the clan, with broad shoulders and a muscular build. Given that Moonpaw was so little, Applepaw was almost certain that she would be paired with him to fight first, just for fairness sake. He couldn't help but feel more irritated at the idea.

"Good morning to you too, Moonpaw! How do you like being an apprentice?" Bearpaw asked, settling into a crouch that put him closer to eye level with the young white she-cat. Applepaw couldn't believe his brother was so interested in talking to the she-cat. He hated when he had to hang out with the younger apprentices.

"It's great! Yesterday, we went with Silverheart and Bluepaw to learn hunting techniques! I almost caught a mouse!" Moonpaw purred proudly. Bearpaw seemed genuinely impressed, as he had never been very good at acting. Applepaw wondered why the large tom would be impressed, they had caught countless mice over the past moons. Besides, Moonpaw had said she ALMOST caught a mouse, so what was there to be impressed about? Young apprentices were prone to over-exaggerating anyway, so he didn't know how much faith he put in the she-cat's words.

"Good for you! I didn't come anywhere close until at least a moon into hunting. I've always been pretty useless at it." Bearpaw admitted, somewhat shyly. Moonpaw purred.

"Silverheart says that all hunting really takes is practice and patience. I'm sure you'll get better and better as you become a warrior," she encouraged. "What about you, Applepaw? Silverheart says Hazelflight told her you were really good at hunting."

"She did?" Applepaw asked, a bit surprised. Hazelflight praised him whenever they hunted, but he had never known she talked about him outside of their time together. He felt his heart pound a bit faster, thinking about his pretty mentor. He had always liked her, and felt close to her due to how young of a warrior she had been when he became an apprentice. Moonpaw nodded.

"That's what Silverheart told me at least. I've never really had to talk to Hazelflight, is she nice?"

"Of course she is! She's your kin, right?" Bearpaw cut in. Moonpaw shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess. Our mothers are littermates. But Hazelflight never really came around the nursery, and she has an apprentice. I was lucky to ever have Shadowwhispers come visit the nursery!" she replied.

"Sorry about that. If it makes you feel better, Shadowwhispers would always talk about Calmwind and the kits in the nursery. Never mentioned how pretty his daughters were though." Bearpaw teased. Moonpaw purred at the compliment and batted at the larger tom's face, clearly trying her best to aim toward his ears.

Applepaw lost interest at this point, feeling disappointed that Moonpaw didn't have any more information on what Hazelflight had said about him. He supposed Moonpaw was alright though, and felt a bit bad about thinking so poorly of her just moments ago. She clearly seemed awestruck to be talking to older apprentices, and it wasn't her fault that the mentors were throwing them all together regardless of age. Besides, Bearpaw already seemed to have a crush on the white she-cat, so he figured it would be best to give her a bit more credit.

"Bearpaw and Applepaw! You two are first!" Hazelflight called. Applepaw and Bearpaw both jumped to their paws as Moonpaw, who had already been standing, trotted back over to the mentors and settled in between Shadowwhispers and Darkfire.

"You two will fight, and whoever wins will face Moonpaw," Shadowwhispers added. He glanced down at his daughter. "That gives you the chance to see the moves Darkfire showed you in action, plus some new ones." he explained. Applepaw watched Moonpaw's eyes seem to light up with excitement as she turned her attention back to the two toms. At least she seemed excited, might as well put on a good show.

Applepaw turned his attention back to Bearpaw, tail lashing across the dirt as he stretched out his back legs quickly, wanting to loosen up and be ready for the fight with Bearpaw. He knew the bigger tom had an advantage, not only from size but from general experience. Bearpaw practiced sparring a lot more than Applepaw did, and he had been in a real fight with a fox who got too close to camp. Of course, Bearpaw had been with warriors, but it was still a real fight, something Applepaw had unfortunately not had an opportunity to have.

Bearpaw was watching him, blue eyes sparkling with excitement. Applepaw could tell he was aware of Moonpaw's eyes on them, and Bearpaw would happily take any chance to show off in front of younger cats. Applepaw hoped he would win this fight to spite Bearpaw, but knew he didn't have a good chance at that. But honestly, winning would just pair him to fight with Moonpaw, and while he wanted to give the she-cat some chance at getting along, he still wasn't very willing to waste his time on a spar with her. Still, he wasn't going to just let Bearpaw win too easily.

"Begin!" Shadowwhispers called, and Bearpaw lunged at his brother. Applepaw shot forward as well, trying to get underneath the larger tom to throw him off balance. Bearpaw seemed to anticipate this, however, and leaped backward. He stood on his hind-legs for a moment before crashing down hard on Applepaw, knocking the wind out of the smaller red tom.

"You okay?" Bearpaw asked, keeping his brother pinned. Applepaw gulped in a breath of air, then used his hind legs to kick his brother's stomach. This time, Bearpaw was the one out of breath, and Applepaw quickly scrabbled to his paws, putting a bit of distance between himself and his littermate.

"I'm fine. You?" he responded. Bearpaw huffed as he caught his breath, and the pair circled each other for a moment, both debating their next moves. Bearpaw suddenly stopped, and just watched Applepaw with an intense stare. Applepaw felt a shiver run down his spine. He knew his brother wouldn't ever intentionally hurt him, or anyone if he could help it, but he would hate to be a fox on the wrong end of those claws.

Suddenly, Bearpaw sprang at the tom, taking advantage of Applepaw losing his nerve, and pinned him on his side. Applepaw flailed, trying to get back to his paws, but Bearpaw slammed a paw on his shoulder, forcing him to stay down. After a long moment of being pinned, Applepaw again gave an attempt to get up, but Bearpaw just pressed him harder against the ground. Applepaw realized very quickly that he had already been beat, and felt embarrassed when he finally heard the call.

"Alright, Bearpaw, that's enough. Let him go." Shadowwhispers called. Bearpaw quickly obeyed and stepped back, watching Applepaw scramble to his paws.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, fine." Applepaw snapped, quickly licking at his chest, smoothing some of his puffed out fur. He felt hot and embarrassed under his fur as he padded back over to the mentors, Bearpaw at his side. Hazelflight flicked her tail as they reached the group.

"Now Applepaw, what have I told you about being a good loser?" Hazelflight asked. Applepaw's eyes flashed from his mentor to his paws in an instant.

"Sorry... You did a good job, Bearpaw." he noted, turning his gaze back to his brother sheepishly. Bearpaw purred.

"It's alright. You put up a good fight, too!" he replied. Applepaw felt like his brother was being less than honest, but decided not to say anything about it. Bearpaw was very good-natured, and he was being very nice for having won. Especially considering how much Applepaw had been trying to brag earlier.

"Does this mean I fight Bearpaw?" Moonpaw asked, standing and puffing out her fur a bit. Darkfire and Shadowwhispers looked at each other for a moment, then Shadowwhispers looked down at his apprentice.

"Go easy on her, she's a newbie." he ordered. Bearpaw dipped his head and led Moonpaw out to a good distance, not wanting to be close enough for the other cats to get in the way of their fight. Applepaw settled down next to Hazelflight, and quietly watched his brother and Moonpaw circle each other, much like he and Bearpaw had done before Bearpaw gave him that intense stare that had thrown him off.

"Begin!" Shadowwhispers called. Bearpaw again lunged, much like he had in his fight with Applepaw. Moonpaw completely froze, watching the tom with big eyes. Applepaw felt bad for the she-cat, but wasn't surprised that she was so scared. Bearpaw had made HIM lose his nerve, and he was very close to his brother! Bearpaw, of course, faltered a bit. He was a very good-natured tom, and cared deeply about his clan-mates. He clearly didn't want to scare the white she-cat, especially when he appeared to have a crush on her.

Suddenly, Moonpaw flew forward, underneath Bearpaw. The dark tabby was completely startled as Moonpaw suddenly slammed upward, knocking him off his paws. Applepaw's tail puffed up, recognizing the move as what he had been attempting to do when he had started his fight. She had stolen one of his moves!

"Amazing, that's what Applepaw was trying to do. You sure this is only her first lesson?" Hazelflight asked, amused as she glanced toward Darkfire. Darkfire dipped his head.

"She's a very quick learner. She took a lesson from Bearpaw too by trying to break down his guard by acting scared." he responded. Shadowwhispers puffed out his chest, clearly very proud of the she-cat.

"As I said earlier, she's the toughest of my daughters. Silverheart and Mothpaw are just like their mother, but Moonpaw always had a lot of spirit when it came to play-fighting with her sister." he added. Applepaw felt a bit irritated at the older cats, watching as Bearpaw began to recover and tackled Moonpaw, though obviously not too roughly. She may be younger, but she was still copying his moves! He could understand Shadowwhispers being overly adoring of his kit, but the other two were acting like she was the best apprentice in the forest!

* * *

Bearpaw ended up winning that fight, and there were a few more spars afterwards. Applepaw was relieved when they finally started on their way home, and was the first to leave the clearing. He padded quickly along the river, then turned and bounded up the slope toward camp. He could hear the warriors for behind him, and figured Bearpaw was trailing back to talk with Moonpaw. He felt annoyance deep within him. He had wanted to give her a chance to be friends, but after watching her steal his moves every single time she had gone up to fight after him had really put a bad taste in his mouth.

As he came to the top of the slope and pushed into camp, he almost bumped into a golden tabby on her way back as well. Applepaw stepped back, looking to see none other than Moonpaw's sister, Mothpaw, carrying a mouse in her jaws. Roseear was walking up behind her, and paused when she saw the red apprentice.

"Hello, Applepaw. How was training?" she asked. Applepaw twitched his tail as he stepped back, allowing Mothpaw to carry her prey into camp. He wished Moonpaw had been with her, rather than with him and Bearpaw.

"Fine. We ran into Darkfire and Moonpaw there, so, it wasn't exactly as planned." he mumbled. Roseear snorted.

"Of course he would rush his apprentice into fighting," she growled. She shook her head and looked to Applepaw kindly. "I hope there wasn't too much trouble with changing your plans, then."

"Well, it was kind of annoying having to fight with a younger apprentice. We're so much bigger and stronger, you know?"

"I can understand that. If you like, I can talk with Firefoot and Silverheart for you. They both have apprentices more suitable to training with someone as young as Moonpaw, or Mothpaw in my case." she offered. Applepaw felt grateful toward the pale golden tabby and nodded.

"That would be really nice of you... I don't think they would listen to me. Bearpaw tells me I'm too rude with younger apprentices." he admitted, starting into camp. Roseear followed close behind him.

"You should be nice to your younger clan-mates. You may be on top now, when it comes to being the oldest apprentice, but you'll be back at the bottom when you become a warrior. Your clan-mates respect you more when you have time to help those who might not be as old or experienced as you, at least from what I've learned," she noted. Applepaw glanced up at the older she-cat, realizing that she had a point. She was much, much older than him after all, and she was offering to help regardless. "But I do feel you have a point with Moonpaw being too small to train with bigger apprentices. So while I work on helping you with getting cats closer to your size to train with, how about you keep what I said in mind? Sound fair?" she asked. Applepaw dipped his head in agreement.

"Sounds fair." he agreed. Roseear purred and nodded.

"Good. I'll see you later then, Applepaw." With that, Roseear padded off toward her brother, who was eating prey with Snowbird outside the nursery. Applepaw watched her go, then turned his attention to looking for Turtleshell. He spotted the tom settled down alone, picking at a sparrow and looking bored. Applepaw made his way over to the dark tom, and crouched beside him, thoughts from earlier in his mind.

"Hey, Turtleshell, how is being a warrior?" he asked. Turtleshell glanced up at him and purred tiredly.

"It's pretty great... I still had to go out on patrol with Mothpetal though. She worked me really hard on that border patrol, and then we went hunting." he noted, yawning. Applepaw looked confused.

"If you're not her apprentice anymore, why do you have to go with her?" he asked. "Why are you even a warrior if they need you to keep working like that?" Turtleshell looked very uncomfortable all of a sudden, and sat up. He pushed his sparrow toward Applepaw, looking nervous.

"Are you hungry? I caught that earlier. The queens had already eaten, so they let me have it. Do you want it?" he asked, speaking very fast. Applepaw's tail slashed. He knew the tom was hiding something, speaking quickly was always a sign when it came to Turtleshell. Before he could ask anything, Bearpaw bounded into camp, and called to the pair.

"Turtleshell! Good to see you!" he called, padding over. Turtleshell looked relieved to see Bearpaw, and watched him settle down beside them.

"Good to see you too. Did training go well?" he asked, completely avoiding eye contact with Applepaw at this point. Bearpaw purred happily.

"It was fun! Moonpaw was with us, and she was really fun to spar and talk with! Do you remember her at all? She was the litter born right after Stripepaw, I'm sure she played with them a lot more than with us." he happily replied. Turtleshell purred.

"I remember her a little. She was the one who always wanted to play fight."

"Sounds about right. Anyway, how have you and Wolfclaw been? Being warriors must be really fun." Bearpaw teased. Turtleshell shifted again, uncomfortable. Applepaw shifted closer to the tom, feeling irritated.

"Look, I know something happened that made you two become warriors earlier than you should have. You even just admitted they were having you still train with Mothpetal. Even if they aren't going to call her your mentor, and you her apprentice anymore, SOMETHING is up. Wolfclaw is our littermate, and you're one of our closest friends. You can tell us what happened." he insisted. Bearpaw looked confused, but Turtleshell winced as he listened to Applepaw. He looked away, uncomfortably toward the medicine cat den, then turned his attention back to Applepaw.

"You have to promise you won't say anything. Not until Wolfclaw and I tell everyone ourselves." he ordered. Applepaw dipped his head, and Bearpaw seemed interested as he leaned forward, eager to hear what was going on. Turtleshell looked back toward the medicine cat den again, then sighed and looked down at his paws.

"Wolfclaw and I are mates... But I'm sure you could figure that out. We were so close as apprentices, I know I didn't make it much of a secret," Turtleshell mumbled. Bearpaw purred and shook his head.

"What does that have to do with anything? You're warriors now, it's fine," he pointed out. Applepaw shushed him and looked back to Turtleshell, urging him to continue.

"Well..." Turtleshell paused again, uncomfortable as he shifted his paws. "Wolfclaw is expecting my kits." he finally mumbled. Applepaw's heart sank. So Daisypaw was right about what she said this morning to Bonesnap.

"She's what?" Bearpaw asked, fur standing on end in shock. Applepaw wished he was as surprised as his brother, and felt a bit upset that Daisypaw had seemed to figure it out before him. He was Wolfclaw's brother, after all... Maybe it was just a sense that she-cats had?

"She's expecting... She just found out the night before we were named warriors. I didn't want to tell anybody because I know apprentices aren't supposed to have kits, we're supposed to focus on becoming warriors, but... Wolfclaw said we had to tell Glimmerwind and Lavenderpaw. She's really scared of the pregnancy going wrong somehow." Turtleshell admitted. Applepaw slashed his tail, glancing toward the medicine cat den.

"Is that where she is now?" he asked. Turtleshell hopped back to his paws, looking defensive.

"She doesn't want to talk to anybody about it now, okay? She's really stressed out already."

"Okay, I won't go say anything! I just... I wish you two would have said something to us. Wolfclaw is our sister, those kits will be our kin! I heard cats this morning, speculating on why you two were made warriors so suddenly." Applepaw muttered. Turtleshell looked more upset at that, eyes big.

"Who was saying something? Was it Daisypaw? I bet it was Daisypaw, she can never mind her own business, I swear!" he growled, going from worried to angry much faster than Applepaw had ever seen him before.

"It was... I don't think Bonesnap believed her though, if that makes you feel better." he murmured. Turtleshell's pelt was puffed out, and he was clearly still very upset.

"So you two were made warriors because she's expecting? I didn't know that's how it worked." Bearpaw noted. Turtleshell seemed to try to relax, though he was still very clearly upset.

"I don't know if there is any normal thing that's supposed to happen when an apprentice is expecting kits... It's not supposed to happen, after all. Mockingstar just thought it was the best option, because he didn't want for anyone to think less of Wolfclaw. He says we need more kits anyway, so as long as we don't say anything, we can just pretend the kits are a little early and were made after we became warriors... Or something, I'm not quite sure. But we still have to train with our former mentors, we're supposed to keep it really quiet though." Turtleshell explained. Bearpaw thought this over for a moment.

"That's a good idea then. Wolfclaw is a good warrior, and it was an accident. I won't say anything to anyone, but you should go tell Wolfclaw that you told us. She knows we'll do what we can to make sure nothing bad happens to her, so hopefully she won't be too upset about you telling us." he suggested. Turtleshell sighed and nodded, pulling himself up to his paws.

"I'll go ahead and do that now. You two should eat something, I don't really want that sparrow anymore." he murmured, turning and padding off toward the medicine cat den. Applepaw watched the tom go, feeling a bit of pity. Turtleshell was clearly very scared, and he felt bad for being so pushy about being told. He had no idea how he would feel if he was about to father a litter of kits, and he was older than the dark tabby.

Applepaw couldn't help but feel very conflicted. He adored Wolfclaw, she was his only sister after all! She was a very loyal she-cat, and he knew that if she was given the opportunity to train just a bit more, she would make a fantastic warrior. Turtleshell was the same way, very loyal and a very promising warrior. However, awarding them warrior names to cover up something that was not supposed to be allowed didn't seem fair. Their clan-mates were talking about it anyway, and he doubted that anyone would believe that something hadn't gone on before the pair became warriors. When Wolfclaw moved to the nursery, cats would surely put the pieces together and figure out that she was expecting before receiving her warrior name.

"I can't believe Wolfclaw is going to have kits soon." Bearpaw murmured, seeming lost in his own heard for once. Applepaw glanced toward his brother, then settled down by Turtleshell's rejected sparrow.

"It's not exactly soon. If she only just found out, she's still got almost two moons to go." he pointed out. Bearpaw nodded after a moment in agreement.

"I guess... It's just weird. I've never thought about having kits before, have you?" the dark tom questioned, glancing toward his red brother. Applepaw shook his head.

"Not since this morning... And even then, it was only trying to figure out how I would feel if I were Wolfclaw." he admitted. Bearpaw shuddered.

"That's scary... I wonder if Firefoot knows." he murmured, looking around for the ginger she-cat who had birthed them many moons before. Applepaw shook his head.

"I don't know, but I won't tell her. We told Turtleshell we wouldn't say anything, and if Firefoot doesn't know, Wolfclaw or Turtleshell need to tell her." he decided, nibbling at the bird between his paws. He understood why Turtleshell hadn't been hungry, he wasn't either. Too much worry for Wolfclaw. He pushed the sparrow toward Bearpaw and stood, stretching.

"I need to go for a run before it gets dark. Otherwise, I won't be able to sleep tonight. You can have the sparrow, I'm not hungry anymore either."


	5. Lavender - Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lavenderpaw has a strange dream.

Lavenderpaw wasn't sure what was happening at first. One moment, she was settled happily in her nest, surrounded by the comforting scents of the medicine cat den. But it felt like as soon as she closed her eyes, she was somewhere else. When she opened her eyes, she was finishing with burying something.  _A mouse._ Lavenderpaw wasn't quite sure how she knew that, but she was confident in the thought. Lavenderpaw twitched her tail and turned, beginning to pad away to look for more prey. She couldn't figure out why she was out hunting, but she wasn't opposed to it.

Despite not recognizing her surroundings at all, Lavenderpaw felt completely at ease. This wasn't the first time something like this had happened, and usually it was related to StarClan. They had never steered her into danger before, so she figured that maybe it was a StarClan warrior wanting her to hunt with them. Not that hunting was usually a reason they brought her to them, but stranger things could happen.

Lavenderpaw suddenly heard paw-steps thudding toward her and turned to face the approaching cat, figuring that the answers were now coming. A black tom passed her, which left her confused at this point. She watched him run, and was startled when a voice called after him.

"Stonepaw, what's wrong?" The voice seemed deep, like a tom's, and it had come from her. Things were getting weird now, as that was seeming less and less like the odd things StarClan had sent to her before. The tom paused briefly and glanced back at her.

"There are cats at the border! Batleap told me to get help!" he hissed, tail puffed out. Lavenderpaw felt her fur stand on end as Stonepaw turned away and continued to run bac toward camp. Lavenderpaw wasn't sure what to do, and hoped that Batleap wasn't alone, whoever he was. Her clan was fortunate. They had problems with rogues, dogs, foxes, and badgers from time to time, but those were not extremely common. They happened enough that they were prepared for them, but life was still mostly peaceful for them. Glimmerwind had told her of a horrific disease that had killed several cats many moons ago, but that was back at a time when Scarstar, who had been leader when Lavenderpaw was a kit, was still only deputy!

Lavenderpaw was again startled when she suddenly started off in a sprint without deciding to. It wasn't like she made a choice and just hadn't fully processed it yet, she was literally moving without wanting to. She tried to stop, but quickly became aware that while she was thinking and aware of what was going on, she had no control of what her body was doing.

Or was it her body?

As Lavenderpaw ran, she caught a glimpse of 'her' paws in front of her, and they were not the right color. Instead of her normally solid black pelt, the legs beneath her appeared to be those of a gray tabby. Things seemed to be getting stranger by the second, and Lavenderpaw wasn't sure if this was a StarClan message anymore. She felt more like she was just having some odd, delusional dream that she was a random gray warrior instead of her normal medicine cat self.

As she rushed through the territory, she was struck by how bare it seemed. There were areas at home where the trees were thin, but here the land was flat and almost entirely treeless. It was odd, and only made it more clear that she was not at home anymore. This was some strange territory, but where exactly was it?

She skidded to a halt when the land suddenly seemed to end. She was on higher ground, and able to clearly see a huge lake, settled in a valley between what seemed to be two mountain ranges. She felt vague recognition, but couldn't put her paw on what it was. The land before her was nothing like the gentle hills she was used to. It just seemed to stop, with a steep drop down toward the lake area.

She was sure it wouldn't be a deadly fall from this height, but still worried that there was a chance that she could accidentally hurt herself if she tried to jump. Her body seemed to have already found a solution though, as she turned and padded over to a tree that was settled up against the ridge. If she was watching from the outside instead of seemingly inside another cat's body, she would assume that the gray tabby leapt to the branch without a second thought, but she was having a lot of thoughts about this situation. Mostly, about how dangerous it could be if she jumped to the wrong branch, or if she fell now that there were things to cut or scrape her sides if she somehow began to fall down.

Lavenderpaw had never been fond of climbing, and hated when she had to speak to the leader or be part of a ceremony. She understood that the Towering Tree was an important part of camp, and the best place to be seen and heard from when clan meetings were called, but something about climbing trees had always made her uncomfortable, especially when it came to new trees that she had not only never seen, but had never climbed or seen others climb to know if was safe!

Somehow, whatever body she was in seemed very sure-pawed, as if it had scaled this tree many times. Closer to the ground, she practically ran down the rest of the trunk and landed on the soft earth below. She broke out in another sprint, tail puffing as she got closer. She could hear cats yowling off in the distance, and they were coming more clearly into view the faster she ran. Her heart sank, realizing that her clan-mates were clearly losing. They were completely out-numbered, as several cats wrestled on the ground, many with more than one cat on them.

Still with no control, Lavenderpaw launched herself forward, toward the defense of a lean black tom who was squirming beneath three cats. She felt a rush of bravery coursing through her, fully prepared to give her life to this battle if it was necessary. It was an overwhelming feeling, one she had never had before. She was willing to do anything for her clan-mates, but she had never been anywhere near a battle. She was too important to her clan. As the future medicine cat, they depended on her living to help them with anything from kitting to a common cold. But here, whatever cat she was now, was clearly a warrior, and lived for this.

Lavenderpaw tackled a small tortoiseshell, likely one that was still an apprentice. She landed with an 'oomf' and squirmed beneath the gray paws of the cat Lavenderpaw's mind currently occupied. She snarled fiercely, raking her claws over the face of the smaller she-cat. The tortoiseshell yelped, almost sounding more like a dog than a cat. She attempted to lunge up at Lavenderpaw, but the older cat pushed more firmly down.

"How dare you, this is our territory! Newtstar will not stand for this behavior!" The tom-voice was again coming from Lavenderpaw. Whoever she was sharing this body with was definitely a tom, but a young one. The tortoiseshell snarled beneath him.

"Newtstar won't have any say over this land once it belongs to us!" she snapped, slashing his nose. Lavenderpaw winced in pain, and felt wet drips down her muzzle. Her nose was bleeding, but she still refused to allow the she-cat up, and was in fact only more infuriated by her nerve.

Before she could respond, her scruff was grabbed and yanked backward. Lavenderpaw squeaked in pain as she was practically thrown away from the tortoiseshell, who quickly staggered to her feet. Lavenderpaw nearly landed on her paws, but faltered slightly. She landed wrong on one of her forepaws, feeling it twist painfully beneath her. She winced as she regained her balance. She had barely done so when she was again roughly slammed into, feeling a hard shoulder crash into her side.

"Are you alright, Emeraldpaw?" a tom demanded. Lavenderpaw felt a paw slam down on her shoulder, forcing her to stay on the ground.

"I'm fine, these MelodyClan cats are tougher than you let on." the tortoiseshell responded.  _MelodyClan?_ Lavenderpaw had never heard of any other clans, but now the apprentice names made sense. There were other clans out there, far beyond the borders of HarmonyClan! But there wasn't time to worry about that now, as this opposing clan was currently invading her territory! Well, the cat whose body she was currently in's territory at least.

Lavenderpaw struggled as the tom above her dug his claws into her shoulder. She felt a ripple of pain course through her shoulder as the dark brown tabby studied her.

"Wait, I know you. You're one of Newtstar's kits! If the leader's own sons are this weak, what hope does MelodyClan actually have of winning this war? How pathetic!" the tom taunted, glaring down at the apprentice with disgusted eyes. So she was in the body of the son of the leader of MelodyClan... Things were slowly coming together, it seemed, though it still didn't quite make sense. Emeraldpaw stepped over and raked her across the face, managing a deep cut in Lavenderpaw's face.

"That's for earlier. Might want to think next time before you try and mess with the cats of-" Emeraldpaw broke off with a startled gasp as the weight was suddenly ripped off of Lavenderpaw. She rolled over to push herself to her paws, and saw that Stonepaw was now on top of Emeraldpaw's mentor, biting at the dark tabby's face. Stonepaw paused and glanced back toward Lavenderpaw.

"Olivepaw, do you need Gullbird? Are you badly hurt?" Stonepaw called, concern shining in his amber eyes. There it was, a name.  _Olivepaw of MelodyClan._ Lavenderpaw filed that away for now, she would figure out if she could find that cat later.

"I'm fine, don't worry!" she called out in Olivepaw's voice. She turned her attention back to Emeraldpaw, and slashed the she-cat again, this time across the chest as she tried to dodge Olivepaw's claws.

"Where's your attitude now?" Olivepaw asked. Lavenderpaw couldn't help but agree, the she-cat had clearly been about to go on some sort of tough rant when she had him out-numbered, but now looked completely terrified. Emeraldpaw didn't respond, only turned tail and ran. Olivepaw gave chase, though Lavenderpaw felt it wasn't necessary. The scared tortoiseshell was retreating, and they were already at the border. But she wasn't the warrior apprentice here, so she supposed Olivepaw knew what he was doing.

"RhythmClan, retreat!" a voice yowled. The beautiful golden-brown she-cat was standing on a rock above the crowd, her light blue eyes looking fiery as she watched her clan-mates turn to leave. She glared toward the MelodyClan cats who were now streaming toward them with unmasked anger, before turning and sprinting after the others, presumably toward RhythmClan territory. Lavenderpaw felt Olivepaw's strong legs push him faster as his clan-mates joined him and chased the RhythmClan cats as far as they could. It was oddly exhilarating, despite the medicine cat's usual lack of desire to be any sort of warrior. She supposed this must be what Daisypaw felt when she thought about the thrill of a fight, and it was very interesting to think of her sister feeling this way.

Olivepaw finally stopped moving. The tom panted, tired as he watched the last of the cats rounding the lake, away from the battle. Lavenderpaw's noted that she could see the mountains and lake, now that her focus wasn't on fighting anymore. As she studied the waters, she suddenly realized that she knew where she was. The mountains were clearly the silhouette of the Star Mountains, though they seemed to be facing the wrong direction. Unless, of course, she was on the opposite side of them, as she appeared to be right now.

Lavenderpaw shuddered inwardly, as Olivepaw was clearly not feeling the same way as she was right now, and wondered what was going on. Why was she here? StarClan was clearly putting her in another cat's paws to tell her there were other clans out there, but why? It didn't make any sense, unless...

Unless these other clans were about to need their help.

* * *

Lavenderpaw jolted away, breathing as hard as a cat who had previously been running. She looked around the den, and was somewhat relieved to find that it was her nest. Again, she was in the medicine cat den, in the heart of HarmonyClan's territory. She continued panting, taking in the comforting scents of herbs as she managed to relax. The dream had been so strange, felt so real.

It was real.

Lavenderpaw stumbled up to her paws, shaking out her fur as he breathing finally returned to normal. Her dream had been no dream, she had been living another cat's life, even if only in her sleep. StarClan had to have sent it to her for a reason, and she needed to tell someone about it right away!

Lavenderpaw turned her attention to Glimmerwind, and found that the golden she-cat was still sleeping peacefully. She looked completely exhausted from the previous day. Lavenderpaw debated waking her, but decided against it. Glimmerwind had woken especially early the previous morning to go to Twolegplace and get some catmint. It had been a full day for her, since she had left at dawn and returned sometime during the night, with the rising moon.

Lavenderpaw shuddered at the memory of her first moon as an apprentice, when she had gone to Twolegplace with Glimmerwind. They hadn't been looking for anything particular at that point, but Glimmerwind had shown her around the maze of twoleg nests to point out different areas where specific herbs grew and could be collected from. Lavenderpaw had slept like a dead cat that night, and Glimmerwind had allowed her to sleep well until sunhigh. Lavenderpaw knew the older medicine cat wouldn't sleep anywhere near that long, but Lavenderpaw had a feeling that it was still much to early to consider waking her at this point.

Still, Lavenderpaw felt like she should tell someone about her dream. She hesitated for a moment, then sighed softly. Her only option other than Glimmerwind would have to be Mockingstar. He was the leader of the clan after all, and it was the job of the medicine cat to advise him. Besides, StarClan had sent her a dream about other clans out there, and not even so far from where HarmonyClan territory was settled. Just beyond the mountains, there were at least two other clans, and that seemed like something that they would need to know about, just in case one of them decided to cross the mountains!

This thought in her mind, Lavenderpaw stood and crept around her mentor, careful not to wake the golden tabby. Stepping out into the main camp, Lavenderpaw shivered at the cold dawn air. She wished it were a bit later, after the sun had a chance to warm the new-leaf forest, but figured it couldn't be helped. She started across camp, toward the Towering Tree, and noted that a small group were gathering.

As she drew closer, she made out the shapes of her mother, Softpelt, waiting with Bonesnap. Daisypaw was also running over to meet them, and Lavenderpaw purred softly. It looked like the dawn patrol was getting ready to set out for a border check. Despite knowing that her clan was safely separated from the others by the mountains, knowing that her clan-mates were checking the border made her feel a bit better.

"Oh? Morning, Lavenderpaw, what are you doing up so early?" Bonesnap called, being the first to notice her. Softpelt and Daisypaw both turned to her and called soft greetings of their own. Or rather, Softpelt called a greeting, while Daisypaw seemed to be trying to figure out what was going on. Lavenderpaw remembered hearing that younger apprentices were complaining that Daisypaw would make sure they got to bed at an early time, and noted that Daisypaw seemed unlikely to have followed her own advise. Not that it surprised her, Daisypaw had always had a lot of trouble falling asleep from the time they were kits, no matter how early she tried to lay down and rest.

"I needed to speak to Mockingstar. Medicine cat business." Lavenderpaw explained, twitching her tail nervously as she glanced up the tree. She remembered the fear of climbing she had felt in her dream, and tried to remind herself that the tree then had been much more dangerous and less stable. But given she had not exactly been controlling her paws when she'd climbed that, it wasn't exactly very helpful. Bonesnap purred.

"Well, we won't keep you. We need to go anyway. Come on, let's go." he ordered, nodding toward the camp entrance. Softpelt and Daisypaw stood and trudged after the chipper white tom, who appeared to be completely unbothered by how early it was. Lavenderpaw watched as the patrol exited camp, then turned her attention back toward the Towering Tree when she heard a voice.

"What's so important that it brings you here so early?" Mockingstar asked. Lavenderpaw craned her next back and saw that Mockingstar was laying on a branch high above her, just beneath the hole where his den was located. Lavenderpaw hesitated for a moment, feeling somewhat intimidated by the large tom's dark, cold stare. After a moment, Mockingstar stood and fixed his dark green gaze on her amber one.

"I imagine it must be very important if you're here now. Come into my den, we'll discuss it there."

* * *

 

After her nervous climb up and settling into the leader's den with Mockingstar, Lavenderpaw began to explain all about her dream. She told Mockingstar about how she had been in the body of a warrior apprentice named Olivepaw the previous night, and that she had fought a battle. The other clans lay just beyond the mountains, and she knew there were at least two who appeared to be at war. She gave him the names she knew of, MelodyClan led by some cat named Newtstar, who was the father of Olivepaw.

At the beginning of her explanation, Mockingstar seemed to be somewhat annoyed. It had shifted to being bored, as if he was being bored by some kit talking to him when he was in the middle of something important. But as she continued, Mockingstar seemed to become more and more interested. Clearly, he was realizing things that Lavenderpaw had also realized, about the dream being an important message from StarClan! By the time she had finished, Mockingstar was clearly deep in thought. Lavenderpaw hesitated for a moment after finishing, before finally continuing.

"So, I believe that the dream was a message from StarClan to warn us that something big is happening with the other clans." she explained, sitting with her tail wrapped around her paws. She felt very weird being in the leader's den, especially alone with Mockingstar. She didn't talk to him often, as it was usually Glimmerwind's place. She figured it would be best to get used to it now, though, since she would be a full medicine cat before she knew it. Mockingstar sat across from her, looking much more relaxed than she felt. He sat up as straight as he would when addressing the full clan, his confidence clear even here in private. Lavenderpaw envied him than, wishing she could feel as sure of herself as he did.

"I have to say that I agree. Your dream was much to strangely realistic. You sounded like you were reciting a memory rather than a dream." he agreed. Lavenderpaw dipped her head in agreement, it had felt like she was describing a memory. It FELT like a memory. Lavenderpaw shivered and leaned toward the large tom.

"Should I go tell to Glimmerwind? She's still asleep, so I wanted to let her sleep in, because she had a long day and-"

"I am aware. Don't worry, I'll fill Glimmerwind in later when I speak to her about what we'll be doing with this information." Mockingstar interrupted, dark eyes focused on her. Lavenderpaw shifted uncomfortably, leaning back when she noticed how intensely he was staring at her. After a long moment, Lavenderpaw wasn't sure whether she was supposed to leave or stay here. Finally, she decided to stay and keep talking until she was dismissed.

"Do you have any idea what you think should happen? I know I'm only an apprentice, so I have no real say in what you choose to do with the clan yet, but I'm just curious since I was the one who told you about-"

"Has Glimmerwind ever told you that you have a tendency to ramble? Form your thoughts before you spew them out into the world, won't you?" Mockingstar grumbled, looking bored and impatient. Lavenderpaw froze mid-word, staring at the tom with huge eyes. She hadn't expected to be called out like this, especially over something that wasn't really related to the conversation. Her pelt felt hot with embarrassment though, and she quickly looked away.

"I'm sorry, I'll try to work on it. I just think a lot faster than I speak, so I have trouble with- You know, it's not important. I'm sorry. I just want to know what plans you have in mind that are because of my dream." Lavenderpaw mumbled, gaze falling down to her paws.

"You're right about it not being your business. You'll find out with everyone else. But, if you must know, I plan to send a patrol out toward Death Mountain." he replied. Lavenderpaw's eyes widened and she hopped to her paws, tail slashing.

"Death Mountain? Why!? It's dangerous, nobody deserves to go there! Why can't you send them over Star Mountains, it's much safer! Medicine cats have climbed about halfway up for many seasons, so it would be much easier to get a group of warriors up there!" she pointed out, pelt bristling with alarm. Mockingstar straightened to stand even taller, his own tail puffing up and making him appear even larger.

"Why would we cross Star Mountains to a group of clearly hostile cats? Your dream as Olivepaw or whoever saw the Star Mountains on the opposite side of the lake from where you stood. That means MelodyClan, the clan you want to help, is on the other side of Death Mountain. If we want to help those cats, we have to cross over Death Mountain to them directly. If we go to a group of cats that don't like MelodyClan, then at best they will try to prevent us from reaching them, and at worse will kill the warriors we send. We don't want death on our paws, do we?" he asked.

Lavenderpaw felt her stomach tighten at that question. She imagined Daisypaw in her mind's eye, trapped beneath Emeraldpaw and the warrior who had been fighting Olivepaw. She quickly forced the thought away, not wanting to think about her sister being killed by warriors far away from HarmonyClan, where she wouldn't even receive a proper burial. But at the same time, she wasn't entirely sure she agreed with Mockingstar's reasoning. 

"I just think that there has to be a better way, you know?" Lavenderpaw responded meekly. Mockingstar leaned toward her, causing her to lean back slightly, uncomfortable.

"Lavenderpaw, I am your leader. Do I need to remind you that by the warrior code, a leader's word is law?" he asked, voice ice cold. Lavenderpaw swallowed nervously, leaning back even more.

"Of course, I know that... I just-" she began.

"I addition to that, I am also much older than you. Not only that, I've even older than your mentor. I think I have a better idea of what I'm doing than you do at any given time, understand?" Mockingstar growled out, cutting her off. Lavenderpaw took a step back.

"Of course, I'm sorry." Lavenderpaw squeaked, eyes dropping to the ground. She had never felt so talked down to in her life. She wished she had just chosen to wake Glimmerwind. At least the tired she-cat would only be a bit grumpy for a few moments, before relaxing after figuring out how important the dream was. Lavenderpaw dreaded her future at this point, if she had to come to confer with this rude tom. She wished he wasn't so intimidating... Any other cat talking to her like this would get their tongue ripped out.

"Good, now-" Mockingstar paused and turned to the entrance of his den, hearing a cat's claws scrabbling up on the bark. After a moment, Violetscar leaped up into the den, shaking her fur out and glancing toward the pair.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, I tried to take as much time as possible to make my way over here." she called softly. Lavenderpaw was relieved when Mockingstar moved away from her, stepping closer to his mate and nuzzling her.

"Oh, it's no trouble, Violetscar, Lavenderpaw was actually just about to leave. What are you doing up so early? You should be resting with the kits in the nursery." he pointed out, looking around as if expecting his sons to follow behind their mother. Violetscar purred, seeming pleased by Mockingstar's apparent concern.

"The kits are waiting for me near the roots. I had to bring them out because of Snowbird. Her kits are coming." she explained. Lavenderpaw stepped toward her, concerned.

"Snowbird's delivering? I need to get down there right away then!" she decided, tail puffed out with fear. Poor Snowbird had been brought to the clan a few moons ago by her mate, and accepted after revealing she was expecting. She had been having a somewhat difficult pregnancy, and been nervous about having kits out in the wilderness last time Lavenderpaw had visited her. These kits would be the first that Lavenderpaw would help deliver, and she was somewhat embarrassed by the idea of being late.

"Don't worry, Glimmerwind is with her. I went and got her the moment Snowbird woke me." Violetscar assured her gently, stepping to the side and brushing her tail over she black she-cat's shoulder as she passed. Lavenderpaw relaxed slightly, feeling better knowing that Snowbird wasn't alone. She looked toward Violetscar gratefully. She had always liked the gentle she-cat, ever since she had met her when she moved to the nursery during her pregnancy with Alligatorkit and Snakekit, when Lavenderpaw was a kit herself. She wondered what the gray queen saw in Mockingstar, but figured he must not talk to her the way he had just been talking to Lavenderpaw.

"That's good... When did this happen? How long has she been in labor?" Lavenderpaw asked. Violetscar sat comfortably beside her mate, thinking.

"Not too long. I saw you climbing up her as I was on my way to the medicine cat den. Like I said, I was trying to take my time a bit so I wouldn't interrupt you two, I figured that it must be important if you were meeting at dawn." she explained. Lavenderpaw nodded.

"That was nice of you. I should get going though, Glimmerwind would kill me if I missed my first kit delivery." she replied, dipping her head in farewell before carefully making her way down the Towering Tree. Alligatorkit and Snakekit were waiting at the roots for their mother, just as Violetscar had said they would be. When the two toms noticed her, they stepped to the side to give her space to jump down and land, which she did.

"Morning, kits. Sorry I don't have time to chat right now, but I'll likely see you later when I check on the new kits." she explained, glancing toward Snakekit, who seemed a bit disappointed that he wouldn't be speaking to an apprentice, warrior or not. Alligatorkit just looked very grumpy.

"When can we go back to the nursery? It's too early." he grumbled.

"Violetscar will tell you when it's time. But it's good for you to get used to this. When you're an apprentice, you'll have days where you have to wake earlier than this to go out on the dawn patrol." Lavenderpaw purred gently. Alligatorkit looked somewhat horrified by this, and Lavenderpaw gently rested her tail on his shoulder for comfort before she bounded off toward the nursery to help her mentor.

She quickly made it to the large cluster of bushes that made up the nursery. The air was already beginning to warm up, and she was grateful that the kits were going to be born in good weather. Lavenderpaw slipped into the den and scanned the area, quickly locating Snowbird's white pelt in the pale light that was beginning to shine through.

Lavenderpaw quickly padded over, noting the Violetscar seemed to have also retrieved Stagpelt, who was already crouched over a tiny kitten. The kit's pelt was dusty-brown, and the kit appeared to be fairly big and healthy for a newborn. Beside them, Snowbird lay trembling with effort, and whimpering in pain as she delivered the little newborn's littermates. Her white pelt heaved with each breath, and she was panting harshly between her whimpers. Glimmerwind stood near Snowbird, the second kit in her jaws as she turned her attention to her newly arrived apprentice.

"So, Lavenderpaw, you finally decided to show up!" Glimmerwind called, sounding irritated and stressed. Lavenderpaw dipped her head and flattened her ears in some form of silent apology, and the golden tabby shoved the kit toward her. "Lick. These kits need to be cleaned before they can nurse." Glimmerwind's orders were very curt, and she moved back to help Snowbird with whatever kits were remaining. Lavenderpaw looked at the tiny kit between her paws and quickly began to clean it as best she could.

After a few moments, Snowbird let out one final cry before panting harshly, and resting her head. Glimmerwind set the final kit between her paws and quickly cleaned it, her bunched up muscles relaxing now that the tense situation was over.

"Another tom." Glimmerwind noted tiredly. The kit Lavenderpaw had just finished cleaning was a little brown and white she-kit, so she assumed that the other tom must be the brown kit Stagpelt was currently fawning over. Glimmerwind's kit was a light brown tom that looked a lot like it's father, other than Stagpelt's scarred stump of a tail.

Stagpelt gently lifted his first son, and carefully set the little kit at Snowbird's belly to nurse. Snowbird looked tiredly up at her mate, who gently leaned down to clean her ears. Glimmerwind gently moved the other tom to his mother's belly, and Lavenderpaw moved the final kit to join her littermates as well. Stagpelt pulled away from his mate and looked over his kits. His chest puffed out and he beamed with pride as he looked the kits over lovingly.

Snowbird glanced over her kits as well. She looked happy, but also very tired. Lavenderpaw thanked StarClan for the fact that she would never have to go through something so painful. As a medicine cat, she would never be allowed to have her own kits. It looked very painful, and she doubted a former kittypet like Snowbird was used to feeling anything as awful as small living things literally bursting out of her. Honestly, it had never seemed appealing to Lavenderpaw, though she could see why it was so important. Queens must be very strong to go through this for the sake of the clan, especially if they had multiple litters like Calmwind had.

"What should we name them?" Snowbird asked, glancing up at her mate. Stagpelt seemed to be a ball of excitement as he looked over his kits.

"I would like for one of them to be named Sparrowkit, after my father! I wish you could have met him, he would have loved you!" Stagpelt purred excitedly. Snowbird nodded in agreement.

"I like the name Sparrowkit. It's sweet to name your kit after kin." she decided softly. At this point, Glimmerwind nudged Lavenderpaw and nodded toward the exit of the den. Lavenderpaw turned and padded out of the den on her mentor's order, deciding that the mates probably did want a bit of privacy to get acquainted with their new kits. After they had left the den, Glimmerwind looked down at Lavenderpaw with interest.

"So, where were you? I imagine it was very important if you missed the beginning of Snowbird's kitting." she questioned. Lavenderpaw gestured her tail toward the Towering Tree.

"I was speaking with Mockingstar." she explained. Glimmerwind looked very alarmed.

"About what? If something serious happened, you should have talked to me first!"

"Well, it was a message from StarClan. I figured that it was pretty serious, but not serious enough to wake you immediately. You were really tired from your journey to Twolegplace, so I wanted to give you a chance to really rest. Mockingstar was awake, so we talked about my dream." Lavenderpaw replied, unsure why Glimmerwind seemed so upset. They were medicine cats, this was their duty. It wasn't like she was planning to hide it forever, she was just going to wait for Glimmerwind to wake up! Glimmerwind slashed her tail in irritation.

"I am your mentor, Lavenderpaw, you need to tell me about these things first! I don't care if I just fell asleep, you are to wake me and tell me about your dreams first. Do I make myself clear?" Glimmerwind demanded. Lavenderpaw flattened her ears and looked down, feeling upset after being talked down to by Mockingstar and now scolded by her mentor for seemingly the same thing.

"Yes Glimmerwind. I'm sorry." she mumbled. Glimmerwind sighed and licked the fur between her apprentice's ears flat.

"Good. Now, let's get back to the den. I want you to tell me all about your dream."


	6. Moon - Clan Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mockingstar announces the journey. Moonpaw reacts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New term:  
> Quarter moon - Approximately a week

Moonpaw was curled up, sleeping contentedly. It had been a quarter moon since she had become an apprentice, and Darkfire had been working her down to the bone! He was very demanding of her, constantly pushing her to do more and more apprentice duties every day. She understood that it was his duty as her mentor to try and prepare her to be a warrior, and that there was a lot that she needed to learn throughout the next two season changes if she wanted to be ready. But at the same time, she wished he would relax and allow her to have some form of break!

Moonpaw was having a very good dream, about going on a walk with Bluepaw and just having fun as apprentices. They hadn't been able to do so very much in the past several days, and it had been bothering her. Not that it was anyone's fault really, Silverheart and Roseear just got along so well, that it was clear they tended to train their apprentices together much more than either of them would with Darkfire. Moonpaw was becoming more and more irritated with her mentor, who she couldn't understand once having a crush on. He was a complete loner, and seemed to avoid any situation that would put him and Moonpaw with other cats. Moonpaw also got the feeling that if she hadn't been assigned to him as an apprentice, he would avoid her as well, and she found that very disheartening. She didn't want to be around someone who wanted nothing to do with her, after all.

She was discussing this with Bluepaw in her oddly realistic dream, when she heard the voice of Mothpaw calling to her. She looked around for her sister's golden pelt, when she also heard Bluepaw loudly calling for her. When Moonpaw turned her gaze back toward Bluepaw, the blue-gray she-cat was gone. Moonpaw spun around to look for either she-cat, and realized that both were actually gone, or never had been there. But she could still hear their voices calling her name. Suddenly, she felt paws roughly slam into her side.

It took a few moments, but she finally realized that she was being shaken, and she was on her side. She wasn't hearing these voices in her dream, they were really there. She was just beginning to feel aware of this when she felt something slam harshly down on her side. Moonpaw gasped out all the air she had, and her amber eyes snapped open, huge and startled. She flailed and rolled to see Mothpaw moving back from her. Mothpaw slashed her tail a few times as Moonpaw sucked in as much air as she could.

"Finally! Come on, Moonpaw, there's a clan meeting!" Mothpaw hissed, bouncing between her two fore-paws. Moonpaw grunted and sent a glare toward her sister, pushing herself to her paws. Mothpaw didn't wait any longer, and instead bounded out of the den toward the gathering cats. Moonpaw looked to Bluepaw, panting painfully. Her side hurt now, as it felt like Mothpaw had managed to crush all of whatever was inside her body, and she was almost willing to complain that her ribs were probably cracked, even if deep down she was aware that was an over-exaggeration. Still, it hurt more than she cared to admit!

"Sorry, we were trying to wake you. I guess Mothpaw got a little over-zealous though." Bluepaw apologized, stepping closer to Moonpaw. Moonpaw huffed in annoyance, sending a glare in the general direction of where she figured her sister was heading.

"No reason for her to be a jerk. Next time it rains, remind me to push her in the mud." Moonpaw muttered. Bluepaw purred with laughter, and gently nudged Moonpaw.

"Alright, alright. Come on, we need to get going!" Bluepaw urged. Moonpaw swatted at her friend's ear playfully, but cooperated with bounding out of the den with Bluepaw on her tail. They made their way quickly to the edge of the crowd, where Moonpaw glanced around and couldn't spot Mothpaw. She wondered where her sister had gone, but decided that it was just like Mothpaw to find a way to be at the front or center of the crowd. She quickly dismissed it as she settled down beside Bearpaw as Mockingstar stood and began to speak.

"Clan-mates, a few days ago I was informed of a message from StarClan by one of my medicine cats. They had a vision that leads us to believe that there may be cats beyond the mountains, and that there are at least two other clans." he began. The clan broke out in murmuring, and Moonpaw stiffened a bit. Other clans? She hadn't had any idea that something like that was possible! Wasn't HarmonyClan unique in the fact that they lived in a group and believed in StarClan? The idea of there being others intrigued her though, and she wondered which medicine cat had been the one to see them.

Mockingstar simply stood on his branch, looking over the clan as he waited for the idea to settle in. Moonpaw thought it was nice that he seemed to be more patient than normal at the murmuring, and wondered if he was just as surprised as they were. She figured he must be, especially since he had apparently been born outside of the clans, and was probably under the same impression as she had been about this group being different. Finally, Mockingstar called for quiet so he could continue.

"Because of this dream sent by StarClan, we have come to the conclusion that one of these clans is in trouble. MelodyClan is in a battle with the clan that lives at their border, and apparently this other clan is becoming increasingly hostile and trying to take over their land. I believe this is what StarClan is worried about, and so we must send help to them as soon as possible! A group will be sent out to cross Death Mountain and aid MelodyClan directly!" Mockingstar declared.

The clan immediately broke out into complaints, and Moonpaw felt a shiver run down her spine at the name. Darkfire had vaguely told her about Death Mountain one day while they were drinking after their sparring match. When Moonpaw had looked up from the river, she had seen the silhouette of the mountain far off in the distance. She knew that some portion of the flat land just beyond the river belonged to HarmonyClan, and had questioned her mentor on if she was seeing the Star Mountains. Darkfire had corrected her that the Star Mountains were at the edge of the forest, and that the mountain they saw now was a series of dangerous, unexplored cliffs that she would never be expected to visit called Death Mountain.

Moonpaw looked around, and quickly spotted her dark-furred mentor in the crowd. Darkfire looked just as startled as anyone else, sharing a confused look with Roseear, who was sitting beside him. Moonpaw found that a bit odd, as the pair had clearly not gotten along the other day.  _Why are they sitting together today?_ It made no sense to her. Maybe they had sat next to each other without realizing? But it seemed like something two cats who hated each other would notice...  _Something's weird about them._ Moonpaw decided she would file that away for now, and bring it up later with Silverheart.

"Excuse me, Mockingstar? What exactly do you think the name 'Death Mountain' means? There's a reason we call it that. It's dangerous and not worth exploration, there are legends of cats dying up there! Why would StarClan ever try to send their clan-mates somewhere like that? Our ancestors may miss us, but I highly doubt any of them would be eager to make their loved ones join them early." Firefoot called out. The ginger she-cat was standing tall, her amber gaze firm as she met Mockingstar's eyes. The massive tom straightened his posture as his clan-mates turned their attention from one of the most senior warriors back to their leader.

"Well, I assume that StarClan also has the ancestors of these other clans. They may really be worried about what's going to happen to them. And the fact that they would be so desperate to ask us for this only proves that the situation must be really dire, at least from where I stand. Danger doesn't mean we can just shy away from the will of our ancestors, or else how can we really call ourselves warriors?" Mockingstar asked. Firefoot hesitated, as if thinking this over. However, there wasn't a long silence before the next cat decided to speak up.

"I'm sorry, but I completely disagree. From how you've told it, StarClan didn't directly ask for us to cross Death Mountain, they only pointed out that the cats over there needed our help. I'm sure any mountain is a dangerous climb, but that just means that we should pick the one that has the least risk possible! If we cross over the Star Mountains, it will be safer for the most part, since medicine cats have explored nearly half of the pathway there. We know there's prey and water there, and that means our group will be strong on the way there! So long as we go about this really carefully, I doubt our warriors will end up being put in a situation where they'll be killed!" Wolfclaw called out. She was standing at her mother's side, seeming almost shy at first before her confidence built with the approving murmurs of her clan-mates. Moonpaw was impressed by how well the tortoiseshell spoke, and wondered if she would become as intelligent in the next few moons. Mockingstar did not seem so impressed.

"Wolfclaw, I don't think you have any reason to be worrying about this journey in the first place." he pointed out, voice icy and somewhat cryptic with the way his gaze seemed to pierce through the young warrior. Moonpaw wondered what Mockingstar meant by that, but decided it was probably just his way of saying that Wolfclaw was not going to be sent on the journey. She felt Bearpaw stiffen up beside her, and send a glance toward the larger tom. Bearpaw's eyes were fixed on Mockingstar, and they looked huge. Moonpaw wondered if Bearpaw knew something she didn't, but decided it wasn't her place to ask.

"Besides, I've already spoken with Glimmerwind and Lavenderpaw about that idea, and we dismissed it as a possibility. The dream pointed to MelodyClan specifically as the clan they wanted us to help, and that means we need to go to them. If we show up on the wrong side of the border, there may be an ambush that could get us all killed. After all, if we have out medicine cats receiving dreams to help one of the clans, maybe the opposing cats are having a similar situation." Mockingstar added. Wolfclaw still seemed a bit unsure, but said nothing more. She lowered her head and sat back down. Turtleshell, who was sitting at the tortoiseshell's side, shifted closer to her and seemed to comfort her.

Moonpaw was very confused at this point, thinking about how Wolfclaw and Turtleshell were now whispering among themselves and how Bearpaw had stiffened at Mockingstar's weirdly cryptic way of telling Wolfclaw she was going to be staying. Moonpaw wondered if Wolfclaw had somehow found out before everyone else and had wanted to go as some sort of proof that she was a good warrior. After all, many rumors had popped up about how it was unfair that the pretty she-cat was already a warrior, and how she should still be an apprentice. Moonpaw felt bad for Wolfclaw and Turtleshell, and hoped that they would have a chance to prove themselves soon.

"I think that Wolfclaw made a lot of perfectly valid points, and that this should be talked over again. After all, I was never involved in any discussion on Death Mountain, and I think that it's horrifying that you would make a decision this big after consulting one other cat and their apprentice," Shadowwhispers cut in. He sent a glance toward Lavenderpaw. "No offense to you of course, I just feel you lack the experience necessary for one of these decisions." he assured the she-cat, who nodded in understanding. Shadowwhispers then turned his attention back to Mockingstar.

"If we cross Star Mountains, then we will be coming from the high ground. That means we have the advantage if we get attacked. We'll be able to see them coming, and be ready for them if we have to come to the bottom. There will be prey, and there will be water. And there's also the fact that we have no idea why they're so desperately trying to take territory from the other clan. We were having a prey shortage here, so we expanded the territory to across the river over a moon ago. Those cats might not be in a good position to fight us when we arrive, for all we know!" he pointed out. There were murmurs of agreements from the crowd, particularly a lot of the more senior warriors.

"I think you should stop trying to undermine me, Shadowwhispers. Just because you're my deputy, doesn't mean you get to step over me and make these decisions for the clan. It is my job alone to make these choices, and I have used by medicine cats as advisers as I'm supposed to. When Scarstar was leader, I never got to call the shots. Even when he was dying, I still respected his choices and only stepped in when it was absolutely necessary." Mockingstar snapped harshly, tail slashing in irritation. Moonpaw shifted uncomfortably, not liking how the tom was speaking to her father, who she thought was being as polite as possible in the current situation. With so many cats in disagreement, Shadowwhispers was only requesting that they talk it over a little more, but Mockingstar was acting like he was being unreasonable!

"How dare you!" Silverheart hissed, leaping to her paws. Moonpaw was startled by the hissing tone of her sister's voice, but quickly realized that Mockingstar's disrespect had apparently crossed the line when it was aimed at their father. Silverheart had been very close to him, after all, especially since becoming a mentor as well and having an excuse to spend time with the older deputy. Mockingstar's pelt puffed a bit.

"How dare I!? You're speaking out of-" he began. Silverheart rose her voice, trembling in anger.

"Yes, how dare you! You're trying your best to mislead the clan by acting like you never spoke out to your leader, but there were plenty of times you openly disagreed with him! Did Scarstar tell you that you were undermining him when you voiced your disagreement over Turtle being returned to the clan after his mother ran off with a rogue? What about when you argued over not ending night hunting after Bouncepaw was killed and won? Should Scarstar not have listened to you, because you were just his deputy and trying to step over him to make choices for this clan, right!? No, Scarstar didn't do that because he trusted your opinion, and why? Because you were his deputy, and he respected you for that. Being at the top doesn't mean you get to have total control over every single cat beneath you." she snarled, her pelt puffing out so she looked as big as a badger. Well, as big as Moonpaw figured a badger would look at least.

"You're very young, Silverheart, you don't know everything that happened back when I was deputy. You should learn respect for your elders before you try to speak so rudely to me, you aren't an apprentice." Mockingstar growled, tense and angry.

Moonpaw felt a lump in her throat, upset to hear him not turning his anger toward her sister. She wished she was a warrior, and allowed to speak up during this clan meeting. She looked around helplessly, and saw Roseear was shaking slightly, looking sadly over toward Silverheart. She could tell the golden warrior felt bad, and knew Roseear was very good friends with Silverheart from the fact that they had been training their apprentices together pretty much daily since receiving them, since Moonpaw herself had felt excluded being Darkfire's apprentice.

Darkfire himself was still sitting at Roseear's side, and seemed to notice how upset the pretty she-cat looked. He looked down for a moment, as if gathering his thoughts, before he looked back up toward Mockingstar.

"Maybe nobody knows what happened when you were deputy, but I remember constantly hearing about Sparrowear and Scarstar discussing clan business from Rosepaw. And considering she was your apprentice, I'm sure you do as well." Darkfire called, drawing his clan-mates attention. Moonpaw was a bit surprised her mentor was saying anything, given how quiet and aloof he seemed to act toward the clan on a normal day.

"Given the fact that Sparrowear retired due to age, I'm sure Scarstar was very aware of the fact that he was picking the cat who would most likely lead after his death. So I highly doubt he changed how he treated his deputies. If anything, I would assume you would have more privileges to make clan decisions that Sparrowear ever was just because you were deputy during a time when Scarstar was incredibly ill. In fact, didn't you take over most of the leader's duties in that last moon where Scarstar was dying from a fever? But you'll then turn around and act like Shadowwhispers is asking too much simply because he wants to talk over an important decision where some of his clan-mates might die from going to try and save a group of cats we only just learned exist?"

There were some murmurs, and Calmwind nodded fiercely in agreement with Darkfire, seeming grateful that he was helping defend her mate, who had just been quietly sitting on his branch since Mockingstar had accused him of undermining him. Roseear was giving Darkfire a grateful look, and Moonpaw wondered why the usually outspoken she-cat seemed to be so okay with Darkfire just speaking out in her place. Their relationship was really confusing at this point, and Roseear was behaving really oddly. Moonpaw wondered if she was just as scared of Mockingstar as a lot of other cats had become, and decided she couldn't blame her if she was. After all, if he was so rude to Shadowwhispers in front of anyone, she could only imagine how he had been back when Roseear was an apprentice!

"You speak like you know what it means to be deputy, but you don't! You have hearsay from Roseear, who was an apprentice at the time and only knew her father was busy, but that doesn't mean a thing compared to how things really were!" Mockingstar snapped.

"Mockingstar, I have NO idea who you think I am, but I am not some young warrior like Silverheart, and I am not a little medicine cat like Glimmerwind or Lavenderpaw. I am a senior warrior, only a paw-full of cats in the clan are older than me. I'm not scared of you, and you aren't going to bully me into shutting my mouth just because you throw your little tantrum about 'I'm leader, my word is law, do as I say!' Most cats in this clan will tell you that I barely speak, so if I'm talking to you, you should probably listen. Even if you don't have respect for my opinion or Shadowwhispers', the fact that over half the clan thinks this is the worst idea you've ever had should say a lot to you." Darkfire responded, voice firm and calm.

"Darkfire's completely right, and you know that. If you really think that your opinion, even as the leader, outweighs every single other warrior's combined, then I think you're really full of yourself and probably don't deserve to be the leader of a clan." Silverheart added, stepping toward Darkfire as if to show a united effort.

The clan around them murmured quiet agreements, seeming fascinated by the boldness of the pair that was calling out Mockingstar directly. Moonpaw herself wasn't quite sure of how to feel at this point. She was very proud of her mentor and sister for speaking out when they thought something was unfair, but at the same time was a bit uncomfortable at the tension that was now heavy in the air.

"Everyone, please!" Glimmerwind begged, eyes looking desperate as she looked around at her clan-mates. "There's no reason to fight! Look, I had a dream from StarClan and they made it clear to me that they needed us to cross Death Mountain to help MelodyClan. That's what happened, so we need to go ahead and do what's been asked of us. Medicine cats are just the messengers after all, and to an extent leaders are as well." she explained. Many cats began to settle and go quiet at this, and Roseear spoke out for the first time.

"But that's not what Mockingstar said, Glimmerwind. He made out that he was the one who made this decision with you, not StarClan." Roseear pointed out, eyes focused completely on her sister. Glimmerwind looked almost desperate as she met her sister's gaze.

"Roseear, he misspoke. We all do it some times. The fact is, arguing like this isn't going to do anything but rile everybody up, and it's not good for anything. We all just need to take a deep breath and calm down." she replied. Moonpaw thought the she-cat looked very, very old in that moment, and felt very bad for her. She was clearly just trying to keep the peace.

The clan finally began to settle, with a few cats shifting into quiet groups and whisper about things. Moonpaw glanced over at Bluepaw, who seemed very concerned, and then toward Bearpaw who was deep in thought. She wondered what her parents thought about this whole thing, or even what she really thought about it. It seemed like it would be an exciting adventure that no cat before had travelled, but it also seemed somewhat terrifying given the destination. Mockingstar called for the attention of his clan-mates.

"This journey will begin in about half a moon. When the moon is full and high in the sky, I will announce the cats who are going off to Death Mountain. I will be keeping an eye out with the medicine cats to determine who is fit to go on this journey. Clan dismissed." he stated dully, voice dropping any emotion it had had only moments ago. He then turned and climbed into his den, still clearly irritated despite trying his best to hide it.

Once he was gone, the clan broke out into much louder discussion, and drifted more apart now that they weren't all needed to gather in a group. Moonpaw watched as Violetscar slipped from the nursery and made her way to the leader's den, sending an annoyed look toward Darkfire and Silverheart, who were in an intense discussion with Roseear. Moonpaw felt conflicted as she looked around at her clan-mates. Some seemed to be chatting excitedly, while others looked almost grave with worry. She could only make out part of Darkfire's emotionless face, and was unable to see how either of the she-cats he was chatting with were feeling.

Mothpaw finally untangled herself from the crowd and made her way toward Moonpaw and the others, green eyes shining with delight. She stopped in front of Bluepaw and Moonpaw with her tail held high, and a purr deep in her throat.

"Did you hear that? There are other clans, and we're going to go discover them! Isn't this so exciting?" she asked happily, eyes sparkling. She didn't wait for a response before she continued. "I hope I get picked! Roseear is such a fantastic warrior, I'm almost sure that we would do well travelling together! What if we even get to lead the adventure?" she suggested, seeming to almost tremble from her excitement. Applepaw purred from his place at Bearpaw's opposite side.

"Mothpaw, I think you should get your head out of the clouds. This is a really dangerous mission, I highly doubt that Mockingstar would decide to send any apprentices on this journey, let alone one that's hardly older than six moons. Even if he were to choose Roseear to lead that mission, which is a fair possibility given how respected of a senior warrior she is, you will probably be re-assigned to another warrior." he pointed out. Mothpaw went to argue, but paused as she really thought it over in her head, then looked toward Moonpaw with a worried look.

"I like Roseear, though. I don't want another mentor, who knows how long these cats will be gone!?" she hissed, suddenly seeming very upset. Moonpaw purred and pressed against her sister.

"Roseear probably won't go, don't worry. She seems to really like mentoring you too, and I doubt she would give that up for any journey. Besides, it looked like she really agreed with Darkfire on the journey being stupid, at least with it going over Death Mountain." she assured her. Mothpaw brightened a bit at that.

"You really think so?" she asked, hopeful. Moonpaw nodded. Applepaw, who had begun to groom one of his paws, paused for a moment.

"Moonpaw's probably right about that. After all, the cats haven't been chosen yet. I just wanted to make sure you didn't get your hopes up for something that would most likely not happen, not claim that Roseear was going to definitely abandon you or anything." he clarified. Mothpaw nodded, seeming to feel much better about the situation now. Moonpaw purred, happy to see that, before turning her attention toward Bluepaw, who still looked very concerned.

"What's wrong with you? Applepaw just said we probably wouldn't be chosen to become apprentices. Even if you are older, you only have the experience we have, so it probably means the same for you as well." Moonpaw pointed out. Bluepaw quickly shook her head.

"It's not that, I know Silverheart and my parents would never let me go on a journey like that, Mockingstar's word or not. It's just that... Lavenderpaw has been acting really weird for the past several days, like she's upset about something. And I feel like... I dunno, like this whole meeting answers why it was. She would have known all about this for days, and I think it really upset her to think about." she explained, eyes focusing toward the direction of Lavenderpaw, who was chatting with Wolfclaw near the nursery. Bearpaw's ears perked up.

"Well, you could ask her about it. Maybe she knows more than we were told." he pointed out, standing and starting off in the direction. Bluepaw quickly got up and followed the large tom, and Moonpaw decided to tag along as well. Mothpaw and Applepaw stayed behind, moving on to speculating what cats would be chosen for the journey. The group made their way across the small area between where they had been gathered to the nursery, and came to a stop with the two she-cats. Wolfclaw stopped speaking when she saw them, and Moonpaw noted she seemed somewhat upset. Lavenderpaw looked uncomfortable and unhappy, but tried to brighten at seeing her sister.

"Hello, how are you three this morning?" she asked tiredly. Clearly the medicine cat apprentice hadn't been getting much sleep, and it showed in amber eyes and dusty black pelt. Bluepaw stepped toward her sister.

"We were just wondering if you knew anything more about the journey? Mockingstar said he discussed it with the medicine cats, so I assume you were in on that talk, right?" she asked curiously. Bearpaw nudged his sister, and moved off with Wolfclaw to speak quietly somewhere else. Moonpaw decided to stay with Bluepaw and Lavenderpaw, as she was also fairly curious about what the dark-furred she-cat had to say. Lavenderpaw sighed heavily.

"Yes, I did know about it. I wasn't allowed to say anything because Mockingstar and Glimmerwind were going over the details and trying to figure out if we had any other option than Death Mountain." she explained softly. Moonpaw's ears perked at that. Glimmerwind had claimed that StarClan had directly asked them to cross Death Mountain, why would there need to be debate over it?

"Did Glimmerwind tell you much about her dream?" Bluepaw asked. Lavenderpaw instantly seemed extremely uncomfortable, and refused to meet her sister's eyes. Bluepaw looked concerned by that, and nudged her sister coaxingly. Moonpaw stepped forward at this point.

"Was it even Glimmerwind's dream?" she asked, suddenly feeling really suspicious about everything that had happened at the clan meeting. Lavenderpaw looked up at Moonpaw with wide eyes, and Bluepaw looked to Moonpaw with a hurt look.

"Of course, why would they lie about that?" Bluepaw asked. Lavenderpaw sighed and shook her head.

"I won't lie to you guys. It wasn't Glimmerwind's dream, it was mine." she confessed. Bluepaw looked to her sister, bewildered.

"What do you mean? Why would you guys lie about something like this?" she questioned. Lavenderpaw shifted uncomfortably between her paws.

"Mockingstar said he didn't think cats would take it seriously if they knew the dream was from an apprentice, so he told Glimmerwind she should be the one to take credit for it. Glimmerwind said she didn't want to lie to her clan-mates, so she asked if they could just try to keep it kinda ambiguous who was actually the one who received the message. They decided they would do that, but Glimmerwind would step up to take responsibility if it was asked directly." Lavenderpaw explained. Moonpaw cocked her head.

"Why wouldn't they take you seriously? Even if you're only an apprentice, you're still a medicine cat. StarClan has chosen you to be one of the cats they'll send messages and prophecies through." she pointed out.

"It's easier just to go along with things that Mockingstar says. He's not a very good... He doesn't listen well. I've never felt as disrespected as I did when I told him about my dream. He listened, decided exactly what he wanted to do with the information, then treated me like an annoyance and like my opinion and interpretation of the dream didn't matter. He's the leader, sure, but I'm supposed to be here to advise him, and it all comes down to me being the only one who knows all what happened in my dream, you know? Like, the least he could do would be to listen to me and not act like I'm some annoying kit who has no clue what I'm talking about.

"He doesn't respect anyone, including me, if you don't happen to agree with whatever he tells you to do. Glimmerwind even told me that I shouldn't go to him, I should come to her because she knows how to deal with him. I personally think that it's a big mistake to send a group of cats to Death Mountain. StarClan did NOT tell us to do that, and I wouldn't condone it even if they did. Glimmerwind's just trying to keep the peace at any cost, and I think that's wrong. If cats die up there, that's what's going to be the real cost of Glimmerwind just bending to Mockingstar's will, and it's going to be really awful and unfair. I just... I really hope that by the time I'm a medicine cat, Shadowwhispers or any deputy that follows him will be leader at that point."

Moonpaw listened to Lavenderpaw's somewhat rambling way of speaking, noting that she spoke really fast when she was upset. Bluepaw pressed against her sister's side, in a clear attempt to comfort the black she-cat. Lavenderpaw sighed heavily, though she seemed much more relaxed now that she had finally gotten everything off her chest. After a long moment, she finally looked up, a brave gleam in her eye.

"But at the same time, we do have to accept what Mockingstar has decided he wants us to do. The warrior code states that the leader's word is law, and we need to respect that even in the face of something this serious. Fair or not fair, Mockingstar wouldn't have received his nine lives if StarClan saw him to be unfit for leadership." she pointed out in a soft, but firm voice. Bluepaw nodded in agreement.

"You're right. We just have to hope that everything turns out alright in the end." she murmured.

"Of course, what would we be without the warrior code?" Moonpaw added. She wanted to mean that and agree with Lavenderpaw, but deep in her heart she wasn't so sure. The journey seemed more and more sketchy the more she thought about it, and the more she heard about it. She wondered if Lavenderpaw had spoken to either of her parents about this, or any warrior for that matter. She decided that it was Lavenderpaw's business, since she was the one who actually knew what was going on. It wouldn't be right for Moonpaw to try and bring it up to Darkfire or Shadowwhispers. Besides, she didn't want either of them to get in trouble for questioning Mockingstar.

"Anyway, I need to go talk to Wolfclaw if you're done with your questions." Lavenderpaw informed them. Bluepaw looked worried.

"You've been spending a lot of time with her recently, is she alright?" she asked. Lavenderpaw purred softly, her eyes looking much kinder and less worried.

"There's nothing to worry about, she's just been having a few minor health problems since she became a warrior. We're working on getting her sorted out, but it looks like she's getting better soon." the medicine cat promised. Bluepaw nodded.

"That's good! Should I go hunting with Silverheart? We could catch her a juicy mouse! I'm sure if she eats something it would help her get the strength to get better, that's what Nightsoul did when I was sick as a kit!" she pointed out, eyes shining. Lavenderpaw purred again with laughter.

"There's no need for that, Turtleshell helps plenty with keeping her fed. Make sure when you become a warrior, you find a mate as dedicated to you as Turtleshell is to her." she teased. Bluepaw looked startled and embarrassed.

"Lavenderpaw, don't be weird! I want to be a warrior for a while before I get stuck back in the nursery with kits!" she pointed out. Moonpaw thought her friend seemed just a little too flustered, and wondered what tom she had a crush on. Before she could ask, she heard her name being called.

"Hey, Moonpaw!" Stripepaw called, bounding over. Moonpaw turned quickly toward the she-cat, in time to see her skid to a halt in front of her.

"Oh, what's up?" Moonpaw asked, tone friendly. Stripepaw gestured with her tail toward Firefoot, Bonesnap, and Daisypaw, who were waiting at the camp entrance.

"Firefoot says that we're all going sparring. She wanted for you and Darkfire to come along so she could see how good you were at fighting! Roseear told her that she heard you were pretty good from Hazelflight, so I should watch out." Stripepaw explained, a glint of competition in her eyes. Moonpaw purred.

"I tackled Bearpaw, and he didn't even know it was coming." she boasted proudly. Stripepaw looked impressed.

"Really? I guess I am in trouble then, I've honestly never been the best at fighting." she admitted, nodding toward the waiting group again before she started walking. Moonpaw padded along at her, calling her goodbyes to Bluepaw and Lavenderpaw. The pair made their way quickly to the entrance.

"Good morning, Moonpaw, how are you?" Firefoot asked politely. Moonpaw purred.

"Fine! You?" she asked. Firefoot sighed heavily.

"Just ready to get the day started, if I'm honest. That clan meeting felt like it was never going to end." she replied. Bonesnap purred and nudged her side.

"Aw, it wasn't that bad. Just everyone falling apart and almost starting a war amongst ourselves, it was any other clan meeting that's not for warrior ceremonies and apprenticing kits." he joked, standing and pushing with way out of camp, with Daisypaw at his tail. Firefoot shook her head and followed after the younger warrior, looking somewhat annoyed.

"Of course, it's been that way since Mockingstar received his nine lives! He doesn't have Scarstar to answer to anymore, so he's stopped any semblance of acting like a reasonable tom." she complained. Moonpaw and Stripepaw followed quickly after her. Daisypaw dropped back to Moonpaw and Stripepaw's pace as the two mentors continued their conversation about the clan meeting, and Mockingstar specifically.

"Well, I think everyone's being way to serious. He said the journey starts on the full moon, surely cats have time to convince him otherwise before then." Daisypaw pointed out, glancing at the two younger she-cats. Stripepaw nodded in agreement.

"I sure hope so! It's called Death Mountain, who wants to go to a place that is literally referred to with 'death' in its name? I just want everyone to be safe... Well, as safe as we can be at least." she added. Moonpaw walked along beside them.

"Honestly though, Applepaw made a good point to Mothpaw earlier. None of us will be sent if this journey is so important or dangerous. We're just apprentices, so it's really nothing for us to worry about. Not like we would get a say in it if we tried to speak up." she murmured. Daisypaw huffed.

"I mean, that's right, we probably won't go, but why were you hanging out with Applepaw? He's such a grumpy loser! You could put him in the Greenleaf sum, and he would find a way to make it leaf-bare darkness! It's exhausting to have a conversation with him if you're not one of his littermates." she complained.

"Aw, don't be that way, Daisypaw. Some cats just find it harder to always look on the bright side of things, we shouldn't fault them for that." Stripepaw cut in gently. Daisypaw snorted.

"There's a difference between being constant gloom and sometimes being in a bit of a bad mood, and I think Applepaw is very safely on the side of constant gloom." she argued. Stripepaw shook her head.

"I dunno. But at least he's friends with Bearpaw, so there is hope for him becoming more friendly." she suggested. Daisypaw purred and nudged Stripepaw.

"Of course you would find a way to bring him into the conversation. With his perfect face and his strong claws and muscles." Daisypaw teased. Stripepaw looked immediately embarrassed.

"I never said that! I only said he was kind of handsome!" she insisted. Daisypaw laughed and proceeded to tease Stripepaw on her increasingly obvious crush on the older apprentice. Moonpaw tried her best to be interested in their conversation, but honestly wasn't very concerned with the two she-cats teasing and being teased over who they liked or didn't like. She glanced back and noted that Darkfire was trailing quite a distance behind, seeming very wrapped up in his own thoughts. She quickly dropped to a slower pace until she was at her mentor's side.

"Why are you hanging back here, Darkfire?" Moonpaw asked curiously. Darkfire looked startled, as if he hadn't noticed his apprentice, then straightened back up and padded along at her side quietly.

"I'm just thinking about everything that happened, just like everyone else." he responded.

"Yeah. I thought you were really brave when you called him out." Moonpaw admitted. Darkfire shrugged.

"Someone needed to do it. I'm tired of his tantrums whenever he doesn't get his way. You're young enough to only really remember his leadership, but he never acted like that when he was deputy." he mumbled.

"Firefoot was saying that too."

"She'd know even more, she's much closer to his age. He joined the clan shortly after she became a warrior, so I bet she knows better than anyone how much he's changed." Darkfire agreed. Moonpaw made a noise of agreement as she kept pace with the tom, who seemed to be speeding up at this point. After a moment, she finally spoke again.

"I noticed you and Roseear were sitting together at the meeting today. Are you two starting to get along better?" Moonpaw asked, genuinely curious. If they were, then maybe she would be able to train with Mothpaw and Bluepaw more often! She had yet to spar or go on a hunting trip with either of them, and a lot of that did come down to the horrible relationship between Darkfire and Roseear, as Silverheart tended to have a closer bond with the golden she-cat. Not that Moonpaw blamed her sister, Darkfire had proved himself very hard to keep a friendship with, due to his desire to be alone and tendency to push other cats away if he could. She had barely been with him a quarter moon, and it was already something she could very easily see about him!

"No! It's not that." Darkfire began, sounding more flustered and emotional than Moonpaw had ever heard him before. He paused, as if catching himself, then just walked in silence for a bit. Finally, he responded in his normal, controlled voice that he usually spoke in. "Mockingshadow just happens to be one of the few topics we really agree on."

Moonpaw was startled to hear her mentor refer to the leader by his warrior name, as she had never heard any of her clan-mates speak so disrespectfully of him. Sure, a lot of them disagreed with and criticized him, but most seemed to at least respect the fact that he had been chosen as the next leader by Scarstar! She wondered if she should call him out on it, but decided against it. After all, hadn't Mockingstar been incredibly disrespectful to both her father and her sister just a while ago? She could only imagine everything he had done over the past several seasons.

Moonpaw walked silently at her mentors side, again debating about whether or not she should tell her mentor about the things that Lavenderpaw had said. After all, he was her mentor, and she was supposed to trust him. And he was clearly respected by their clan-mates, so he had the ability to tell others about what had happened and be heard. But she ultimately decided against it, and that it was better to keep her mouth shut until Lavenderpaw decided to talk about it.

At least for now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Moonpaw has actually been an apprentice for 6 days. Even if dates are not mentioned in this story (because they're cats in the warrior universe of course), I am keeping track for the purposes of age, changing seasons, and things related to that.
> 
> The mention of the next two season changes refers most apprentices taking approximately half a year (6 months, or about 2 seasons) to finish their training, at least by my understanding. This would put them at about a year old when they receive their warrior names.


	7. Apple - Meeting Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Applepaw and Bearpaw go to Star-cavern.

Applepaw yawned and stretched as Hazelflight moved on to waking his brother. He had been in a pretty comfortable sleep after a long sparring session with just Hazelflight the previous day, and he had really been looking forward to sleeping in a bit this morning. But instead, here he was being awoken at dawn for StarClan knew what. Bearpaw seemed just as unamused at being awoken, and whined pitifully like a kit.

"Hazelflight, wha'do ya want?" he asked, voice slurred from his sudden awakening. Hazelflight continued to prod at the tom until he finally sat up and looked at her with tired, but open, eyes. At that point, she finally stepped back, looking as chipper as always.

"We're going to visit Star-cavern today." she purred. Applepaw and Bearpaw both perked at that. Every apprentice was supposed to visit Star-cavern once toward the end of their apprenticeship, usually before the beginning of their final assessments to become full warriors of HarmonyClan. Applepaw hadn't known that they were this close to becoming warriors, he had assumed they had at least another moon or two, given Hazelflight and Shadowwhispers not talking much about the subject. Maybe they'd been having those discussions in private, which was fair enough. They were the mentors after all.

"So... We're almost warriors?" Bearpaw asked, cocking his head curiously. Hazelflight purred.

"I didn't say that. I said we were going to Star-cavern, your warrior ceremonies will come soon enough." she responded coyly. With that, Hazelflight turned and sauntered out of the den. Applepaw and Bearpaw quickly scrambled after the pretty she-cat, into the cool dawn air. Once they stepped out, Hazelflight made her way over to Smokerise and Mothpetal, who were crouched together near Wolfclaw and Turtleshell. Applepaw looked at the young warriors curiously, while Bearpaw seemed to be scanning the camp for his mentor. Smokerise noticed and stood, shaking out her pelt.

"Shadowwhispers is in a meeting with Mockingstar. He told us to go ahead without him, so I assume they'll be at it for a while." she explained. Bearpaw looked a bit disappointed, but said nothing. They all knew it was probably because of the journey thing that had been announced four sunrises ago. Applepaw padded a bit closer to his sister, and sat between her and Turtleshell.

"What are you two doing up?" he asked curiously. Turtleshell yawned tiredly.

"Smokerise and Mothpetal never got a chance to take us to Star-cavern before we became warriors, so they figured that since you two were also really close, we would all just go together, you know?" he replied. The tom looked exhausted, and Applepaw wondered if he had been sleeping well recently.

"I wish we got a bit more of a warning when we were going. Turtleshell and I went out hunting with Stagpelt the other night, and we weren't informed until we got back that we were going to Star-cavern before the sun rises today." Wolfclaw complained. Mothpetal snorted.

"You think I wanna be up this early? Sometimes things happen unexpectedly. We were discussing waiting until after... A while, but since Hazelflight was planning to go with your brothers now, we changed our minds. Besides, you should have thought of that. We told you it was coming soon." she muttered. The grumpy she-cat looked just as tired as Turtleshell. "I had dusk patrol last night, and you don't see me whining about short notice."

"Sorry. I'm just tired." Wolfclaw huffed back, looking away. Turtleshell bristled a bit protectively, sending a glare toward Mothpetal, who was now ignoring both of them and chatting with her daughters. Applepaw shifted closer to his sister comfortingly.

"Don't worry, we're all tired and grumpy." he soothed gently. Turtleshell dipped his head in agreement.

"Applepaw's right, don't let it get to you." he added. Wolfclaw looked between her mate and her brother, then purred softly.

"You toms, always gotta get all sweet whenever there's... Whenever I'm involved." she laughed. Applepaw tensed a bit, this having been the second time this morning that one of these she-cats had almost slipped and spilled the secret about the kits. He was only an apprentice, and he already felt like his nerves were going to stop his heart one of these days. Turtleshell sighed heavily.

"I can't wait until this is all out in the open and we don't have to tip-toe around it." he whispered. Applepaw nudged his friend encouragingly.

"I'm sure everything will turn out alright soon enough." he pointed out. Wolfclaw yawned.

"Soon we won't be able to hide." she added. Turtleshell nodded in agreement, and Applepaw noted that his sister looked a bit more plump than usual. She wasn't fat enough that pregnancy was the only option, but it was obvious something was off when compared to her usually lithe frame. Applepaw wondered if her weight was why the rumor had started in the first place, as the recent prey shortage had made it pretty clear that no cat in this clan would be plump from regular meals. Wolfclaw stood up and shook out her fur, glancing toward the mentors.

"I'd hate to rush anything, but can we please start moving? I think I'm going to fall asleep on my paws otherwise." she grumbled. Smokerise purred and hopped up when she heard her former apprentice.

"I agree, walking will help wake us all up!" she decided. Mothpetal and Hazelflight both stood and stretched before starting off toward the camp entrance, Wolfclaw on their heels. Turtleshell was instantly on his paws and following along at his mate's side. Applepaw and Bearpaw exchanged a glance before they also stood and followed after all the warriors. As they came closer to the camp exit, they noticed their mother sitting with her apprentice. Firefoot looked at the approaching group with interest, her apprentice with curiosity.

"Where are you all off to? I thought we were the dawn patrol, you all look like a whole army." Firefoot noted. Hazelflight paused and nodded a greeting to the older she-cat.

"We're off to Star-cavern. The young warriors here never got their chance, and it's about that time for the apprentices." she explained. Firefoot sent a proud glance toward her kits, and shifted to the side to give them room to pass through.

"Well, may StarClan light your path on the way there! I wouldn't want to keep you." she purred. Hazelflight brushed past her as she trotted on, while Mothpetal and Smokerise both dipped their heads on the way past. Firefoot's eyes seemed to glow as she looked again at her three kits. "I can't believe all of you are going to be warriors soon... Maybe I should retire." she joked, shaking her head. Wolfclaw butted her head against her mother.

"Aw, you aren't that old. We're just talented." she teased. Firefoot purred and smoothed the fur between her daughter's ears.

"Of course. Now, you three should keep going." she pointed out, nodding toward the exit. Wolfclaw dipped her head and slipped out of camp, Turtleshell on her tail. Stripepaw stood as Bearpaw started toward the exit.

"Congratulations on getting so far through your apprenticeship, Bearpaw." she murmured, somewhat shyly. Applepaw remembered overhearing Daisypaw whispering to her sister that Stripepaw liked Bearpaw, and as much as he hated to admit it, the she-cat seemed to have a pretty good record on the gossip that turned out to be true. Bearpaw barely seemed to notice as he barely glanced at the younger apprentice and purred gratefully.

"Thanks, but save that for when I actually get my warrior name! I'll see you and the others when we get back." he promised, slipping out of camp. Stripepaw looked disappointed as she watched him go, having clearly hoped for him to give her a bit more attention, but turned her gaze to Applepaw.

"Bye, Applepaw, hope to see you later too." she mumbled. Applepaw dipped his head and hurried after the group, hoping to catch up as soon as possible. The mentors were waiting about halfway down the slope, with Wolfclaw, Turtleshell, and Bearpaw nearly halfway down to them. Applepaw hurried quickly to catch up with his siblings and friend. Once the younger cats had caught up to their mentors, the entire group continued forward at an easy pace.

"Is it just me, or am I getting bigger? Turtleshell told me he didn't think I did, but I feel like I am so... What do you two think?" Wolfclaw asked, glancing between her brothers.

"No." Bearpaw responded instantly.

"Yeah, a little." Applepaw replied at the same time. Wolfclaw looked to Applepaw immediately.

"You think so too?" she asked, sounding weirdly relieved and anxious at the same time. Applepaw shifted between his paws.

"Only a little. Like, it's not really noticeable, Turtleshell and Bearpaw said they can't tell. It's just... You're not as thin as you used to be. Maybe it's just me knowing..." he cut himself off, embarrassed that he almost let it out.

"Knowing that I'm expecting?" Wolfclaw finished. Applepaw looked to her with wide eyes, then toward Hazelflight and back. Wolfclaw shrugged. "There's no need to act so weird about it. Everyone here knows that I'm going to be having kits in the coming moon." she explained.

Applepaw again looked toward his mentor, who was chatting away to her sister and mother without a care in the world. He felt a little hurt, knowing that Hazelflight was aware and hadn't said anything about it. Wolfclaw was his sister, after all, and he thought he deserved to know if his sister was having an issue like being pregnant before technically being allowed to be. The fact that Hazelflight hadn't mentioned it made him worry that she might have even known before he did. After all, if she had been told afterward, wouldn't she know who all had knowledge of it? Maybe he didn't, but he had found it out from Turtleshell, where Hazelflight likely learned it from either of the kin she was currently speaking with.

"What's wrong with you, Applepaw?" Wolfclaw asked, nudging her brother lightly. Applepaw quickly snapped out of his thoughts and shook his head.

"Nothing, I just... I'm trying to figure out who all knows. Do you know when you plan to tell the clan?" he asked, giving his undivided attention back to his sister. Wolfclaw hesitated for a moment, debating on whether she should really drop the issue of her brother seeming upset, then decided she would and shook her head.

"We aren't entirely sure. I guess when I start showing more obviously. I've been talking a lot with Lavenderpaw and Glimmerwind about it. They've already informed me that my kits will probably be delivered by Lavenderpaw, and they'll be the first she personally delivers. That's exciting, I guess. So Lavenderpaw has been the main one advising me, and I'm thinking I'll talk to her about it later, since I won't be able to hide it much longer." Wolfclaw murmured. Her words seemed to be coming out more as just her thinking aloud than as a proper answer, but Applepaw didn't mind. He knew this would be important to Wolfclaw, so by extension it also felt important to him.

"Do you have any names? When do she-cats name their kits?" Bearpaw asked. Wolfclaw looked toward her larger brother, shaking her head.

"How can I name them if I have no idea what they look like or how many there are? I don't even know how many are toms or how many are she-cats. I have literally nothing to go on when it comes to naming kits." she pointed out.

"I named one of my daughters after her father's mother, and the other after her gray fur. Hazelkit's name came before she was born, and Smokekit's came after. It really just depends on your kits and how you want to name them." Mothpetal cut in. Wolfclaw considered that for a moment, then glanced toward Turtleshell.

"Do you want to name one after Shellspeck?" she asked. Turtleshell immediately shook his head.

"No, I don't want any of my kits to have Shell or speck anywhere near their name. I don't like Maple, Elm, or Stone either." he mumbled, looking a bit troubled. Wolfclaw seemed to realize immediately that she had struck a nerve and pressed against her mate, twining her tail with his.

"Hey, it's okay, we don't have to give them any of those names. I just wanted to know what you thought." she soothed. Turtleshell glanced away, but didn't move away as they continued down the slope.

Turtleshell had been born outside of the clan to Shellspeck, a warrior who had run away with a rogue tom. His littermates had all died one by one, and eventually his mother had also died defending her kits from a fox. The details around it were really fuzzy, but Turtleshell had told Glimmerwind and Lightfoot about a lot of it when he first was brought into the clan, before he'd even had his name changed from Turtle to Turtlekit. He had Applepaw a bit about it as well just about two moons ago, and it had clearly been very upsetting for him even then. Applepaw had always felt bad about it, as he couldn't imagine being a kit and waking up next to Firefoot to find her dying or dead.

"Do you want to name any of your kits after Cove?" Applepaw asked, glancing toward Wolfclaw. The tortoiseshell seemed to mull it over in her head for a moment, then looked back at Turtleshell.

"I would like to name one of our sons after him, assuming we have any." she finally decided. Turtleshell shrugged.

"I would be fine with naming a son Covekit." he agreed quietly. Applepaw could tell his friend was still a little down, as he clearly hadn't been expecting for his mostly dead family to be brought up. Applepaw wondered how much he had told Wolfclaw about it, or if she knew how it upset him. Their father, Cove, had died when they were very small, but they had no real memories of him. It was sad to think that they didn't know him, but they couldn't exactly miss him the way Turtleshell missed his mother. Turtleshell had been two moons old, where they had only just opened their eyes when their father died.

By this point, they had reached the bottom of the slope and started following the river. Applepaw padded ahead toward Hazelflight, feeling uncomfortable with the conversation between Wolfclaw and Turtleshell.

"Why are we going this way? Wouldn't it be faster to go the other way?" he asked. He hadn't really thought about it as they started down the slope, but now that they were by the river, he was a bit curious. Hazelflight nodded.

"It would be. But it's still a very long walk to that edge of the territory. And since it's so early, we figured you might get thirsty and hungry along the way, especially with Wolfclaw expecting. This way, we can eat and drink as needed." she explained. Applepaw glanced back toward Wolfclaw, who had paused and crouched to take a drink. He figured the mentors did know what they were doing, so it was no trouble to walk this way. He had never actually been to the Star Mountains anyway, so he didn't exactly know where the Star-cavern was. Maybe it was by the river.

As they continued on, they came to the training area. Applepaw pushed his way into the small clearing, and was startled to see there were already four cats there. Roseear and Silverheart were sitting side-by side, watching as their apprentices stumbled around. Mothpaw and Bluepaw appeared to be half-dead on their paws, stumbling around while attempting what looked like fighting moves. Applepaw felt bad for the apprentices, they were both very young and probably still weren't used to having to get up at a time anywhere near this early.

"Roseear, Silverheart! Good morning! You four are up early." Hazelflight called, brushing past Applepaw toward the other warriors. Roseear stood when she heard Hazelflight's voice, and purred affectionately.

"I could say the same about you. Are you here to train as well?" she asked. Hazelflight shook her head.

"We're visiting Star-cavern. Applepaw and Bearpaw are finally old enough." she responded proudly. Applepaw felt his heart race at his pretty mentor's pride in him. He puffed up a bit as Bearpaw stepped closer to him. 

"We're gonna be here forever." he mumbled. Applepaw gave him a sharp look, and Bearpaw quieted before moving over to the younger apprentices, who seemed to be perking up a bit now that the clearing was becoming more crowded.

"We're just trying to get our apprentices in top shape. If a bunch of warriors are going to be gone soon, then everyone will need to be ready in case something happens." Roseear explained. Hazelflight settled comfortably beside her golden friend.

"That's smart. You really are dedicated to Mothpaw, aren't you?" she murmured.

"She's my first apprentice, I want what's best for her!" Roseear replied earnestly. Mothpetal stepped toward the pair.

"Hey, Hazelflight, we need to hurry and keep going. We got up early for a reason." she pointed out. Hazelflight huffed.

"Aw, Mothpetal, give me a break. We can chat with Roseear and Silverheart for a bit." she argued. Mothpetal's tail twitched in irritation, but she said nothing. Instead she glanced toward Smokerise and nodded toward the opposite edge of the clearing. The pair settled there and started murmuring quietly to each other as Hazelflight, Roseear, and Silverheart continued their conversation. Applepaw sighed and made his way over to Bearpaw, Mothpaw, and Bluepaw.

"So you're really going to Star-cavern?" Bluepaw asked, sounding somewhat amazed. She was the sister of the medicine cat's apprentice, so Applepaw imagined she'd heard a lot about the cavern, and probably Star Mountains in general. Bearpaw puffed his chest proudly.

"Yep! I'll tell you about it when we get back later, if you want!" he promised. Bluepaw brightened at that. Mothpaw glanced longingly in the general direction they were going before turning back to Applepaw with a jealous tint in her eyes.

"Lucky! You'll both be warriors soon!" she cried, her voice sounding awed. Applepaw shrugged.

"We all had to know it was coming after Wolfclaw received her warrior name. She is our littermate after all." he pointed out. Mothpaw nodded, then paused and looked up at him as if something had just dawned on her.

"Littermates don't all receive their warrior names at the same time?" she asked. Applepaw shrugged.

"It depends. Usually they get it around the same time though. I guess it's really the leader's decision." he explained. Mothpaw relaxed a bit at that.

"So you don't think Moonpaw will become a warrior before me, right?" she asked. Applepaw shook his head.

"I can't tell you that. I have no idea how far or fast either of you are in your training. Ask your mentor if you're curious."

"Ha! Like SHE would know how DARKFIRE'S apprentice is going. Any cat could see they hate each other more than a pair of rouges fighting over a piece of crow-food."

"If you think two senior warriors have no idea how a pair of apprentices are doing, why do you think a fellow apprentice has a better idea?" Applepaw asked, feeling a bit irritated. Mothpaw shrugged and glanced away.

"I dunno, you share a den with us?" she pointed out.

"You sleep right next to your sister, why don't you ask her about what she knows and figure it out yourself?" he snapped. Mothpaw's tail slashed angrily. Bluepaw suddenly stepped between them though, before Mothpaw could say anything.

"Do you think you guys could join us next time we train, if you're still apprentices? Moonpaw was telling me and Stripepaw how cool you were and how much she liked training with you! She told me she learned a lot from watching you!" Bluepaw gushed. Applepaw was startled to hear that Moonpaw had said so many good things about him, considering how annoyed and rude he had been by the end of the training session.

He thought back on what Roseear had said about being nice to cats and them respecting you more in return, and felt guilt churn in his belly. It seemed like Moonpaw hadn't even noticed how rude he had been, and had instead been awestruck Here he was coming to the end of his apprenticeship, and he still had to learn how to act around his younger clan-mates. He figured he owed her an apology, and decided that he would try extra hard to be nice to her next time they spoke.

"You'll need to ask Silverheart about that. Tell her and Roseear I wouldn't be opposed to showing you some new moves before my assessments, Hazelflight would love to come out with them. I mean, look at them chatting away now." he pointed out. The trio of she-cats were clearly having a great time chatting, and Applepaw could often hears laughs and purrs, particularly from Hazelflight. He didn't think he remembered seeing his mentor this happy in a while, at least since Roseear had received Mothpaw as an apprentice. Hazelflight clearly missed being able to take Roseear out with them on patrol.

"Hazelflight!" Mothpetal called, seeming incredibly irritated. Hazelflight glanced toward her mother, startled, then sighed and looked back to Silverheart and Roseear.

"I guess we do need to get a move on. Shadowwhispers told me that he planned to send us on dusk patrol, so Applepaw and I will join you and Mothpaw for that later, alright?" she purred. Roseear's eyes brightened.

"That will be great! I'll see you then." Roseear agreed. Hazelflight dipped her head and padded over to Mothpetal and Smokerise, beckoning Applepaw, Bearpaw, and the two new warriors to follow her.

"Come along! To Star-cavern!"

* * *

 

As the group continued, a sound began to reach Applepaw's ears. He couldn't remember ever hearing it before, but Turtleshell seemed to perk up to it. He whispered something to Wolfclaw, then dropped down to Bearpaw and Applepaw's pace.

"Do you hear that?" he asked softly. Applepaw and Bearpaw both nodded. "That's falling water," he informed them. Bearpaw looked quizzically at the smaller tabby.

"Falling water? How do you know?" he asked. Turtleshell shifted between his paws, somewhat nervously.

"When my father brought me into the clans as a kit, the border was still at the river. When he decided to bring me, we were living by the lake, so he just followed the mountain up to the river, hoping to find cats at the border. When we got there, there was this huge river of water falling down from the mountain, and it was so loud! I remember it really hurting my ears back then. So he followed the river a little because he couldn't find any cats. But yeah, I remember seeing water falling." he explained. Hazelflight dropped back to the apprentices at this point as well.

"Those are called the Forbidden Falls. The medicine cats apparently have secret meetings up there with StarClan, at least from what I've heard." she explained. Turtleshell looked at her with wide eyes.

"Medicine cats actually go up there? I thought they just went to Star-cavern!" he exclaimed. Hazelflight shrugged.

"Maybe it's just in dreams, I'm not exactly sure. I just know the falls are important to medicine cats." she explained. The pair continued in silence as the falling water slowly came into view. It seemed to be roaring at this point, and Applepaw understood what he meant about it hurting his ears when he was little. Mothpetal and Smokerise finally stopped and turned toward the other cats. Wolfclaw, seeing them stop, stepped over and took another drink of water. Turtleshell padded ahead to his mate again to check on her. Hazelflight glanced down at the apprentices.

"Alright, we're going to rest here! You two go ahead and catch something to eat if you like. We'll all meet up back here." she ordered. Applepaw dipped his head and sprinted off in another direction to look for a mouse. It didn't take him long to find a proper target, he had always been a very lucky hunter. Applepaw crouched carefully and slowly crept toward the mouse, eyes focused. He paused, and for a moment didn't even allow himself to breath before he leapt forward and caught the brown creature in his jaws.

Applepaw stood and turned quickly, padding off back toward the group. He made his way through the tall grass and came to the clear area by the river, where Smokerise was the only one who had returned. She was eating a fish she had managed to catch out of the river, and Applepaw paused as he came closer.

"Are you really going to eat that?" he asked, disgusted. Smokerise glanced up toward the red tom.

"Of course! Fish are great!" she replied. Applepaw shook his head.

"They're all slimy and gross though. Where did you even learn to catch them?" he asked. Smokerise purred at whatever memory came to mind, settling into a more comfortable position as she took a bite of her fish.

"When Hazelflight and I were kits, Leafsoot would always promise to teach us how to fish when we became apprentices. After he died, I still wanted to learn, so Mothpetal showed me what she knew. and I've been fishing ever since." she explained softly. Applepaw softened a bit, hearing the gray she-cat talk about her father. It was clear she had been close to Leafsoot, and missed him despite how clearly happy she was when she remembered him. Maybe it was still too soon for Turtleshell to remember things happily, or maybe the experience with Shellspeck had been more traumatic. Still, Applepaw hoped that one day his friend could look that happy reminiscing about the past.

Shortly afterward, Wolfclaw and Turtleshell returned as well. Wolfclaw had nothing, but Turtleshell had managed to somehow get a vole. He dropped it at Wolfclaw's paws and settled comfortably by Applepaw, who had already finished his mouse.

"You go ahead and eat. I'll eat whatever's left." Turtleshell offered. Wolfclaw looked gratefully at her mate and crouched hungrily to eat, taking great care to not swallow any bones. Mothpetal also returned with Bearpaw at her side, both with mice in their jaws. Mothpetal padded over to Smokerise and dropped her mouse.

"Have you already eaten, Turtleshell?" she asked. The dark brown tabby shook his head.

"I'll eat whatever Wolfclaw doesn't eat." he repeated. Mothpetal shook her head.

"I wouldn't do that, if I were you. From this point on, she'll need to eat more and gain weight. There are kits growing in her belly, so she's going to need a lot more than you will." the former queen explained. Wolfclaw suddenly looked a bit self-conscious and looked toward the older she-cat.

"We can share this... We won't be in a huge rush to get back, so Turtleshell and I can hunt for some more on the way back, since there won't be a huge pressure to get here and back. We aren't in a hurry like Hazelflight and Applepaw will be to be back by dusk." she pointed out. Smokerise dipped her head in agreement as she finished some of the last bites of her fish. Mothpetal shrugged and flopped down to begin eating her mouse. Bearpaw padded over to Applepaw and settled down to eat as well.

At some point, Hazelflight also returned with prey. By the time everyone's belly was filled, it was nearly sunhigh. Hazelflight looked up toward the sun and shook her head.

"I say we're making pretty good time. Let's go ahead and finish this trip." she decided. Hazelflight led the way as the followed along the cliffs, and Applepaw noticed that it seemed to be much hotter now. The sun was high up, and it almost felt as hot as Greenleaf. Applepaw tried to keep in the shade, but the cliffs were not yet able to cast enough shadow to properly keep the group cool.

Applepaw felt like his paws were about to fall off when Hazelflight led them up a steep slope. He heard Bearpaw groan in annoyance beside him as they carefully climbed the hill, slowly making their way to the top. Hazelflight, Smokerise, and Mothpetal were waiting for them at the tom. Applepaw and Bearpaw paused in front of them, as Wolfclaw and Turtleshell came up behind them.

"We're here." Mothpetal announced softly. The four cats looked curiously as the jagged crack in the side of the mountain, just barely big enough for a cat to squeeze through. Applepaw felt a shiver run down his spine at the sight of the dark, cramped space. He had never been a fan of tight spaces, and he wasn't very big on darkness either. If this was Star-cavern, then it certainly seemed more like a nightmare than he cared to admit.

"I will lead the way. It's a straight shot through, so as long as you don't wander down one of the branches you'll be okay. The main path is pretty tight though, so obviously we have to walk in a line. When we reach the cavern, we can spread out, and we'll be able to see again. I'm the oldest, so I'll lead the way. Hazelflight, you bring up the rear to make sure everyone stays on track." Mothpetal ordered, sending a firm look to her daughter and then turning her gaze to her former apprentice. "Turtleshell, you follow right behind me." she added.

With that, the golden-brown she-cat pushed into the darkness and disappeared. Turtleshell padded after her, Wolfclaw at his tail. Wolfclaw paused when she came to the opening, and glanced down at her belly self-consciously. Smokerise brushed gently against her.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine. This is why we want to do this before you get to big," she pointed out. "I'll be right behind you!" she encouraged. Wolfclaw looked gratefully to her former mentor before she followed after her mate, with Smokerise keeping her word and following after. Hazelflight nodded toward the hole.

"Applepaw, Bearpaw, you two need to stick close together. Remember what Mothpetal said: Stay on the main path. If you wander, we won't be able to come find you." she warned. Applepaw swallowed nervously.

"Thanks for that, I feel so much better about going into this cave knowing it could easily be a death trap." he muttered. Hazelflight nodded again, this time more impatiently.

"Hurry, we don't want to fall too far behind." she ordered. Applepaw sighed and padded forward, pushing his way into the blackness.

Applepaw was immediately aware of the fact that he couldn't see anything. Even when he went out at night, he could see pretty well, especially if the moon was out. But there was no light in here, and it was even darker than the nights when the moon was completely dark. The tunnels pushed in on him, and he felt suddenly very cold. His breathing kicked up a hitch, and he trembled as he struggled to force his way through and keep closer to Smokerise.

"It's alright, Applepaw, relax." Smokerise called softly. He felt the she-cats tail against his shoulder as if to steady him, and felt somewhat comforted by the gray she-cat's voice. They continued on through the tunnel, until Smokerise finally pulled her tail away and light hit Applepaw's face. He recoiled at first, but then stepped out into what he figured to be the main cavern. Sunlight streamed in from the ceiling of the cave, and glinted off the shining stones along the walls. Mothpetal was in the center of the area, pawing through some glittering stones that were much like those on the walls. Wolfclaw and Turtleshell were already lying down beside the golden-brown she-cat, as she pushed some stones toward them.

"Is everyone here?" Mothpetal called. Applepaw glanced back as he felt Bearpaw's pelt brushing against his, and saw Hazelflight squeezing out from the tunnel.

"Yeah! We should all be ready." she agreed, padding forward to her mother. Mothpetal pushed two stones to her, then turned back to Smokerise and their young warriors and began to speak. Hazelflight walked back to Applepaw and Bearpaw, and pushed the bigger of the two stones to them.

"Touch your nose to the stone and close your eyes. You should wake in StarClan, or whatever." she explained, shrugging. Applepaw, despite how much he liked Hazelflight, couldn't help but feel like that was a pretty lame explanation, but said nothing as he quietly laid down and tucked his paws beneath him. He certainly didn't want to upset his mentor when they were in a cavern that felt like a death trap! He leaned down to touch his nose to the stone, and felt Bearpaw beside him doing the same.

It was very quiet, and dark for a few moments. Suddenly, the ground beneath him felt very rocky and he felt a sharp stone jabbing into his side. Applepaw's eyes snapped open, and he sat up and felt instant relief at the stone no longer digging into him. He was startled at first when he realized that everyone was gone, then kicked himself for being so stupid. Of course they were gone, he was walking with StarClan for this dream. He stood and looked around curiously, hoping to spot an ancestor, maybe even his father! Instead, there was nothing, no cats, just him and the rocky ground. He padded curiously along, wondering where he was, when he finally spotted her.

She was a beautiful gray and white tabby with stars in her fur. She was even prettier than Hazelflight, who he admittedly had a crush on, or even Roseear, who he had previously liked for a while. Despite how pretty she was, she also seemed very faded, more so than Applepaw had expected even a StarClan cat to be. He could almost see through her white underbelly and paws, her gray fur looked very hazy, and only her thick, dark stripes seemed to be solid in any way. The stripes seemed to spiral into an eye, similar to the way Shadowwhispers' stripes looked, but they seemed much more defined on this she-cat than they did on the dark tabby tom.

"Hello?" Applepaw called softly, moving closer to the beautiful she-cat. She said nothing, only looked at him with huge, pleading amber eyes. Applepaw couldn't help but feel his heart twist at how desperate and sad the StarClan cat looked, and tried to straighten up and look more confident as he approached her, as if he could make her feel better by seeming brave. The she-cat didn't move, just continued to plead with her eyes.

"Are you alright?" Applepaw asked, feeling a bit unnerved by her silent staring. Despite how desperate she looked, she was completely silent. The she-cat finally began to speak, yet nothing came out. She looked like she was talking, but Applepaw could hear no words, only piercing silence. When the she-cat stopped speaking, she just continued with her pleading look, and Applepaw realized she was literally unable to speak to him.

"Why can't you speak? Is there another cat here who can? I wanna help you, but I-" he began. Suddenly, the ground beneath them began to shake. Applepaw tried to dig his claws into the rocky ground beneath him to keep from falling over, and suddenly the earth beneath him plunged down and he was falling. Applepaw desperately tried to catch a ledge, and barely caught one. His hold was not very good, and he struggled to try and climb up. He looked around, and suddenly realized he was on a mountain, the sky above him bright with sunlight. He was completely confused at this point, and wondered where the gray and white tabby was. He looked up and saw the silhouette of her and upper body leaning over the ledge to look at him.

Applepaw decided against calling to her, as he could tell there was no safe way for her to climb down. He kicked harshly with his hind legs, trying to push himself up to stand on the ledge. With great effort, he managed to lug himself back up onto the ledge and collapsed on it, panting heavily. He looked around, hoping to find a way up or down, anything to get out of his current situation. There were no ledges near him that would work as proper foot-holds, and he looked helplessly up at the she-cat. He couldn't see her face, just the shape of her staring down at him, but he could feel her gaze boring into him.

Applepaw took a deep breath and tried to calm himself to think of any solution. He couldn't really climb his way out of this, and a look over the ledge told him he couldn't just jump down either. He tried just reminding himself that it was a dream, but everything felt too real for him to even think of testing his luck based on that. He was completely stuck, and there were no ways out. He looked back up and saw that the she-cat was no longer looking at him, and was instead replaced by a group of cats staring at him. They were much more solid-looking than the gray and white tabby had been, and he was at first terrified when he saw the cats, then realized that they were likely just cats who had died more recently. Lavenderpaw had mentioned that some StarClan cats were more faded after all, so that must be it!

"Hey! Can you help me? What's going on!?" Applepaw called. Suddenly, he heard a sickening cracking noise beneath him. Applepaw watched as the cats above him pulled back and disappeared from view over the cliff. He felt his heard pounding in his ears as he slowly willed himself to look down, just as the ledge finally snapped out from under him. Applepaw let out a cry of fear as he fell, flailing desperately. He noticed that he was falling toward a lake, and that it was very fast-approaching. He squeezed his eyes shut and let out a yowl of terror.

And then he hit the water-

Applepaw sprang to his paws with a terrified screech, and stumble-ran toward a wall. He skidded as his eyes opened and he realized where he was, and stopped just before hitting the wall. His breathing came out in harsh gasps, and he was trembling with fear still as his mind tried to assure him that it was only a dream.

"Applepaw, what happened!?" Wolfclaw hissed. Applepaw felt his sister's pelt brushing against his side, and felt her sniffing at him as if looking for wounds.

"I died." he managed to gasp out. He heard the others begin to approach him.

"No you didn't, you're fine." Bearpaw assured him, pressing against his other side. Wolfclaw began to lick the fur between his ears smooth, like Firefoot would have done back when they were all still kits in the nursery. Usually, Applepaw would have complained and been irritated at being treated like a kit by his sister, but now it was just comforting.

"It's alright, Applepaw, it was just a nightmare." Wolfclaw added softly. Applepaw's breathing was finally going back to normal, and he leaned lightly against his sister, before reminding himself that she was expecting and that he probably shouldn't put so much weight on her.

"No! It was like, there was this tabby and-" he began.

"We aren't supposed to speak of our StarClan visions, Applepaw." Mothpetal cut in, giving him a firm look. Applepaw looked toward the golden-brown tabby with huge eyes.

"But-" he began. Mothpetal shook her head firmly.

"No. No buts. You don't talk about those visions, it's not the business of any other warrior." she insisted. Applepaw looked desperately to Hazelflight, who nodded solemnly.

"We don't speak of them to other warriors." she agreed. Applepaw looked down at his paws, trembling slightly. "However, I've never seen or heard of a cat being as freaked out as you just were after waking. I suggest you speak to either Lavenderpaw or Glimmerwind after we get back," Hazelflight added. Applepaw nodded, looking up at his mentor.

"Can we please get out of here? I want to get back to camp." he whispered, voice wavering a bit. Hazelflight nodded.

"Come on then. We need to hurry if you want to speak to the medicine cats before we have to join the dusk patrol."


	8. Lavender - Discussion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lavenderpaw discusses the upcoming journey the night before the cats are to be announced.

Lavenderpaw was murmuring the names of herbs under her breath as she carefully sorted them out. Alligatorkit had snuck into the den earlier and made a complete mess of the system, much to the annoyance of both medicine cats. Glimmerwind had of course returned the young tom to his mother, and was still out presumably helping in his scolding. Lavenderpaw had decided that she would busy herself with sorting out at least some of the mess, and had managed to do the job in a pretty good amount of time. She was finally at the stage where she could begin to put the herbs away where they belonged, and was eager to finish so that she could finally go out to eat something.

Lavenderpaw had, like most cats, not been eating as much as usual. They had been experiencing a bit of a shortage in prey, but over the past few days, it seemed to be treading into the territory of being a full-blown famine! Anytime she was hungry, she would walk past the fresh-kill pile and see how puny it was, and remind herself that there were queens and kits who were probably more hungry than she was. But she was still a medicine cat, so she was well aware that she needed to eat something, and that her clan needed her to be healthy in case anything went wrong. After all, the famine could be due to disease, and if one of her clan-mates caught something, they would need her. Lavenderpaw sighed softly. Being a medicine cat was such a difficult balancing act.

"Lavenderpaw?" The black she-cat paused in what she was doing at the sound of her name, and turned to face Bearpaw, who was standing hesitantly in the entrance of the den. He looked like he didn't know what to do with himself, and whether he was even allowed to be here. Lavenderpaw purred warmly.

"Come on in! Are you feeling ill?" she asked. Bearpaw stepped into the den, shaking his head.

"No, I'm fine. I uh... I wanted to talk to you about something." he mumbled awkwardly. Lavenderpaw nodded.

"Alright, give me a moment." she agreed. The young medicine cat quickly pushed the final few herbs into their proper places, making sure that there were no more of their supplies littering the floor. Satisfied that everything had been successfully put away, Lavenderpaw finally turned her full attention to Bearpaw with a friendly look.

"What was it you wanted to talk about?"

"The visit to Star-cavern," Bearpaw responded. Lavenderpaw's cheer dropped at that, and she leaned toward the tom with concern.

"Is it about Applepaw? I already spoke to him about his dream, does he need to talk with me about it again?" she asked. Bearpaw shook his head quickly.

"No, it's about me and my dream, not him," he corrected. Lavenderpaw leaned back and cocked her head in confusion.

"Oh?"

"Yeah... I didn't want to say anything because Applepaw was so scared, and my dream didn't seem all important when it was compared to him nearly jumping out of his pelt and apparently dying... He told us that much before Hazelflight and Mothpetal said he wasn't allowed to talk about it with anyone other than you medicine cats." Bearpaw admitted, looking worried over potentially getting his brother in trouble. Lavenderpaw nodded.

"He told us that. He was very open and honest with us about what happened," she soothed. Bearpaw relaxed hearing that, and continued his to explain his own dream.

"So, everything was great at first. I met Cove, and it was really exciting to really speak to him and get to know him since... Well, he died when we were kits. But then I started to notice that he wasn't very happy to see me. He was... Stiff? Like, uncomfortable. He didn't act like he was really focused on what I was saying, he seemed like he was trapped in his own mind or something. Which I get it, that's how Applepaw is. His thoughts wander and he couldn't care less what I was saying. But that's different, because we're brothers, and we see each other everyday. Cove and I were having our first conversation, and usually cats don't get tired of their kin within the first few moments of speaking to them, right?

"Anyway, I ask him if he's okay and he says he is. So I try to ignore it, because he clearly doesn't wanna talk about it. It's not like he's Applepaw or Wolfclaw, and we tell each other everything, he's a cat I barely know, father or not. I just keep talking about stuff I've learned, because what else am I supposed to do? And I do that until he suddenly tells me I need to leave. He seems really, really upset now, so I'm just completely confused when he disappears. Then I notice this gray and white tabby, and she's just beautiful. Never seen a prettier cat in my life! But she doesn't say anything to me, she just stares... Like, stares through me, not at me. It was kinda creepy." Bearpaw explained. 

Lavenderpaw felt her pelt prickle as she heard Bearpaw describe the she-cat, just like Applepaw had days before. The ginger tom had been completely traumatized after seeing this she-cat and proceeding to die in his dream, and hearing Bearpaw just now come forward to admit he also saw her was somewhat unsettling.

"What happened next?" she asked, nearly breathless.

"I woke up. Applepaw was just, screeching like a dying rabbit. I've NEVER heard him sound like that in my life, and I just didn't think about the dream because Applepaw was so upset. Like, he's starting to get back to his normal self now, and that's why I decided to tell you today. It's the first time I've really thought about it and felt like Applepaw was okay enough that it wouldn't really bother him to be left alone with the other apprentices." Bearpaw replied quietly. Lavenderpaw nodded.

"Thank you very much for sharing your dream with me. I'll talk to Glimmerwind about it later, and get back to you if anything comes from it." she assured him. Bearpaw shifted uncomfortably, a concerned look in his eye.

"Do you think it has anything to do with Applepaw's dream?" he asked.

"Certainly, but I can't tell you how. Applepaw shared his dream with me, and you shared yours. They're separate dreams, and therefore, I cannot tell you about his, or him about yours. I will say that it's very odd you both had disturbed dreams at the same time, though. Something must be up with StarClan." she murmured.

"About the journey?"

"I can't say for sure, but I do believe it's a strong possibility." she admitted. Bearpaw looked worried.

"You don't think we'll be sent on the journey, do you?" he asked. Lavenderpaw lightly nudged his shoulder with the side of her face.

"Of course not, Bearpaw. Everything will turn out alright in the end, I just know it. While dream-interrupting tabbies aren't exactly normal, I'm sure they don't signal the end of your life. StarClan knows what those dreams were actually about. I'm not involved with selecting cats for the journey, like I know Mockingstar led everyone to believe, but Glimmerwind is. She speaks to him almost every day about it. And I know my mentor would never send an apprentice or inexperienced warrior up Death Mountain, because it would be stupid. You or I have the highest chance of death if we're compared to the senior warriors, because we just don't know as much as them. So don't worry about it." she assured him firmly. Bearpaw looked like he felt a lot better about the conversation, and Lavenderpaw was thankful for that. She hated seeing her clan-mates upset.

"Thanks for listening to me, Lavenderpaw. Even if it turns out not to be important, I just feel better from telling you about it." Bearpaw purred. Lavenderpaw beamed.

"I'm happy to help you, any time. It's what I'm here for, so never be afraid to go to your medicine cat, okay?" she insisted. Bearpaw dipped his head.

"Right. Anyway, Daisypaw and Applepaw were talking about getting something to eat, and I said I would come invite you. Are you hungry?" he asked. Lavenderpaw hesitated for a moment, then assured herself that she had to stay healthy and nodded.

"Starving actually. I haven't eaten since dawn." she admitted softly. Bearpaw looked alarmed.

"You should really eat something then, it's important to stay well in times like this. Shadowwhispers says that it would only make things worse if half of us were dropping dead of hunger, and that we need to care for ourselves just as much as our clan-mates." he lectured. Lavenderpaw sighed.

"I know that better than anyone, Bearpaw. Medicine cat, remember? It's just hard to do when you're not the one doing a lot of hunting... Glimmerwind has been teaching me more about it recently though. She says that even if our duty is mostly to heal, that we need to be able to do things during down-time as well." she added.

"Maybe you could come hunting with me and Shadowwhispers tomorrow. He promised we would take one final hunt tomorrow before starting my assessments. We haven't done those yet because he's been so stressed, but he promised to get to it once the cats are sent out!" he offered. Lavenderpaw purred softly.

"I'd like that. I was going to go with Daisypaw, but since you're offering first... I think it would be a great idea." she agreed. Bearpaw brightened and nodded.

"Yeah, I'll ask Shadowwhispers about it after our meal! Come on, let's get some food!" he purred, turning to leave the den. Lavenderpaw followed him out, then paused as she spotted Wolfclaw slipping out of the nursery. She glanced toward Bearpaw, who had taken a few steps toward the fresh-kill pile before realizing she wasn't following. He was now paused, glancing back at her curiously.

"You go on ahead. I want to check in with Wolfclaw before I relax, Glimmerwind's put me in charge of her." she explained. Bearpaw looked concerned for a moment, before realization dawned in his eyes and he nodded.

"Oh right, I guess she needs someone to help her with... That... I'll save half my squirrel for you!" he promised, turning and trotting off toward the prey pile with a flick of his tail. Lavenderpaw dipped her head and turned back toward the nursery, bounding over. Bearpaw and Applepaw had both spoken of a tabby in their dreams, and she wanted to check if anyone else in the group had seen her as well. Wolfclaw seemed like a decent place to start, as she had also technically been there in the sense of an apprentice visiting Star-cavern for their warrior name, even if she had already received hers prior to going.

Wolfclaw was sitting quietly, her face turned upward to the moon. She didn't say anything as Lavenderpaw approached, though she did flick her ear when the apprentice called out a greeting.

"The moon will be full tomorrow." Wolfclaw noted as Lavenderpaw settled down at her side. Lavenderpaw glanced up at the nearly full moon, and sighed softly.

"Yeah... Tomorrow's the big day, I suppose. Mockingstar and Glimmerwind have been meeting nonstop the past several nights, so I guess they're still debating over who needs to be sent. Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll either cancel or change the plans." she pointed out. Wolfclaw finally looked away from the moon, down toward her belly and paws.

"I hope so... I can't imagine how the mother cats feel. I know most of the cats who are going will be senior warriors, but even in StarClan they must be worried. I'm glad my kits won't have to worry about this." she whispered. Lavenderpaw pressed against the tortoiseshell gently.

"StarClan knows what will happen from here on out. Any cats who die will be already known by those who hunt in StarClan."

"That has to be worse. Knowing your kits are going to die and not being able to do anything? I couldn't bare it. If you told me tomorrow that even one of the kits in my belly was going to be born dead, it would kill me."

"Everyone has to die eventually, Wolfclaw, and the cats of StarClan have accepted that. I'm sure they see it more as their kits have lived long, noble lives with the clan and will not be able to rest and meet with them again. You have to remember that you're a very young mother whose kits have not been born yet, so of course the idea of yours dying is even more terrifying. You're still alive, and healthy, and your little ones deserve to live up to your age and beyond."

"I dunno, I guess you're right. The whole idea of this journey still makes me feel sick though." Wolfclaw mumbled, glancing toward the moon again. "...You know, you talk a lot like Glimmerwind does." she added. Lavenderpaw couldn't tell if it was a compliment or not, but still felt flattered at being compared to her wise, old mentor.

"Anyway, I didn't come here to speak about the journey." she began. Wolfclaw glanced toward her belly again.

"I'm doing fine, Turtleshell keeps me fed. The kits have been moving a bit." she explained, seeming very used to being questioned by the medicine cat. Lavenderpaw purred softly.

"That's great! But... I needed to ask you something else... Bearpaw and Applepaw have both told me they experienced at least some degree of strangeness in their dreams, though I'm sure you could tell Applepaw's was much worse. I wanted to check with you and Turtleshell to see if anything went weird for you?"

"Oh! Um, not really. Barkflame seemed a little distracted while we spoke, but I figured that was just because he was worried for the journey or the prey issue."

"Did you only see Barkflame, or were there other cats?"

"Scarstar showed up at the end and told Barkflame that we needed to cut it short. I figured something important was happening, so I woke up. Then Applepaw started screeching a few moments later, so I forgot about most of what my dream was about. You don't think mine is connected, do you?"

"No, I just wanted to make sure. When you see Turtleshell next, ask him to come see me." Lavenderpaw replied, feeling a bit more relaxed, but also more confused. Why had the tabby only chosen the brothers? Had Scarstar stepped in to make sure she didn't bother Wolfclaw? It was only making the situation stranger by the moment!

"I will. He's out on a hunting patrol with Firefoot and Stripepaw out past the river. It's his first patrol without Mothpetal, and he was really excited." Wolfclaw explained, purring softly at the thought of her mate's excitement. Lavenderpaw nodded.

"That's good. Independence as a warrior should help him settle in better, I know he's been stressed with his former mentor breathing down his neck."

"He never really liked Mothpetal much. Felt like Mockingstar had assigned him someone who didn't click with him at all." Wolfclaw growled. Lavenderpaw glanced toward Mockingstar's den.

"Daisypaw likes Bonesnap, but it feels like his choosing really depends on how he seems to feel about the parents of the kits he's apprenticing at the time of the ceremony. He seems to choose cats he isn't fond of for apprentices who he isn't fond of and vise versa. It's a bit worrying, if I'm honest."

"You see it too? Glimmerwind told me I was imagining things." Wolfclaw grumbled.

"Well, if you're imagining it, then you aren't alone in seeing things. There's that, I suppose."

"Yeah..." Wolfclaw agreed softly, watching as a patrol entered camp, only one of them carrying any prey. She sighed softly and glanced toward Lavenderpaw again. "I wanted to inform you that... I told Violetscar and Snowbird I was expecting. Violetscar is building a nest for me so I can join them, starting tomorrow." Wolfclaw admitted. Lavenderpaw's eyes widened in surprise.

"Already? I thought you were going to wait a bit longer." she stuttered. Wolfclaw glanced back toward the camp as a whole.

"Everyone's been looking at me funny. They already know, Lavenderpaw. I'm due in about a moon. It's hard to mask the fact that I'm beginning to smell like milk and kits. I knew I couldn't hide it forever, and I need to just accept that the act is up and move to the nursery." she pointed out. Lavenderpaw thought about this for a moment, then finally nodded in agreement.

"You are starting to smell like a queen. I guess if you feel like it's time, then it's time. Maybe being around Violetscar and Snowbird's kits will help get you ready for your own." she added softly. Wolfclaw purred at the mention of Snowbird.

"Snowbird seemed so happy for me. Violetscar looked really surprised and alarmed, but Snowbird was just so excited to know her little ones would have more kits to play with... And they're so cute! Sparrowkit was the first to open his eyes, and Snowbird says she thinks Leafkit and Swampkit will soon too." Wolfclaw gushed. She glanced back toward the moon for a moment, though she seemed excited rather than solemn this time.

"You know, I was really scared when I found out about my kits. And of course I'm still nervous. But... I dunno, it just seems less terrifying now. I'm really excited to meet my kits. I can't wait for them to arrive and to show them off to Firefoot and my brothers." she whispered. Lavenderpaw could feel the peace and happiness that seemed to be radiating off the young queen, and couldn't help but also feel that happiness for her.

"I'm glad you feel that way. I'll be back to check on you tomorrow, have a good night." she purred. Wolfclaw dipped her head.

"You too." she murmured. Lavenderpaw padded slowly away from the nursery, sending a final glance back toward Wolfclaw. The tortoiseshell had seemed so nervous just over half a moon ago, when she had announced to the medicine cats that she was expecting, and Lavenderpaw was happy that she had come such a long way since them. Lavenderpaw was happy she now seemed excited for her kits, and was excited herself about delivering and helping to care for them. Lavenderpaw knew she was a medicine cat, and would never have kits of her own, but she didn't feel any envy toward the queens being happy with theirs. The way Glimmerwind had explained it, they were essentially supposed to treat the entire clan like their kin, and Lavenderpaw took that to heart whenever a duty was assigned to her.

As she approached the group, Lavenderpaw began to hear the unmistakable squabbling of Daisypaw and Applepaw. It seemed that Bearpaw was right about Applepaw finally beginning to recover from the fear of his dream, and while she wasn't happy to ever hear arguing, she had to admit that it did feel much more normal than the ginger tom laying quietly off by himself. Bearpaw perked up when he saw her approach, and scooted over so she would have a space beside Daisypaw, which she happily took. She was happy to see that Bearpaw kept his word when he shoved half a squirrel over to her, and thanked him as she gratefully began to eat.

"I'm telling you, Mockingstar is going out of his way to make this trip more dangerous than it needs to be." Daisypaw was insisting. Lavenderpaw glanced curiously between the three cats, wondering what exactly their conversation was about. Clearly it regarded the trip, but it seemed to be based on something more specific than that.

"And I'm telling YOU that that's incredibly stupid. Even if Mockingstar's making a dumb choice, I'm sure he has enough sense to make sure that he takes every precaution. He's the clan leader, he can't be THAT stupid." Applepaw snapped. He turned his attention to Lavenderpaw. "Daisypaw's saying that Mockingstar isn't going to send a medicine cat on his trip. Maybe she'll listen to you if you're the one to tell her how ridiculous that sounds." he growled. Lavenderpaw paused mid-bite, and looked sadly down at the squirrel, not wanting to meet the eyes of the other apprentices.

"Actually, Daisypaw is correct. There won't be a medicine cat going on the trip, because it's dangerous and we can't afford to lose either me or Glimmerwind. Glimmerwind's very old to start mentoring another apprentice if I die, and I'm only an apprentice who isn't ready to take over if she dies." Lavenderpaw explained, her voice soft.

"Ha! Told-" Daisypaw began.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS!?" Applepaw hissed, tail puffing up and sounding angrier than Lavenderpaw had ever heard him. "He can't be that stupid! He's sending this group into a death trap!" the tom snarled, sounding very upset.

"I agree that there should be a medicine cat with them, I even offered to go. This is a StarClan mission, it only makes sense that a medicine cat should go along to keep the group well and to help relay messages from our ancestors. But Mockingstar and Glimmerwind have both told me that I'm not allowed to, and we all have to accept their choices, whether we agree with them or not." Lavenderpaw pointed out gently. Applepaw shook his head.

"No we don't, not when lives are at stake! What if Softpelt or Nightsoul are going on this journey? Should they die just because we don't want to say anything to the leader?' Applepaw demanded, locking eyes with the dark-furred apprentice. Lavenderpaw thought she felt her heart stop at the mention of her parents names, and her throat closed at the idea of either of them meeting an untimely demise on the journey. Sure, both were senior warriors who had lived good lives, but they were both incredibly healthy and could easily live many more moons in the safety of HarmonyClan.

She remembered her discussion with Wolfclaw over cats dying, how Wolfclaw had mentioned that she couldn't imagine how it would feel to have her kits die. Lavenderpaw wondered if the tortoiseshell had even considered the possibility of her mother being sent. Lavenderpaw knew she had, though not very seriously. Glimmerwind had seemed to be implying that they would be sending senior warriors, but mostly younger ones who would better cope with possible minor injuries. But Lavenderpaw understood where Applepaw was coming from with his point. Was it really so important to obey the leader's word being law if lives were being laid on the line this heavily, and without good reason? It was very troubling indeed.

"Now hold on, Applepaw, there's no reason to bring anybody's parents into this." Bearpaw stated firmly, giving his brother a hard look. Applepaw opened his mouth to argue, then saw the look on Bearpaw's face and seemed to think better of it, instead looking away and muttering under his breath. Bearpaw looked instead to Daisypaw, who had been watching with great interest, and Lavenderpaw, who was still lost in thought.

"Mockingstar is making scary choices, there's no doubt about that, but everyone seems to be acting like he's trying to murder our warriors. No leader can be cruel enough to intentionally send cats into a death trap, StarClan just wouldn't grant nine lives to a cat like that. I'm sure Mockingstar just thinks he's doing what's best, even if most of us do disagree with it." Bearpaw explained.

"You're really beginning to sound like Shadowwhispers." Daisypaw purred.

"He is my mentor." Bearpaw responded, looking a bit bashful. Lavenderpaw looked down at the remaining bites of squirrel that were resting still between her paws.

"Bearpaw is right. StarClan wouldn't grant nine lives to a malicious cat," she finally decided. She glanced toward the leader's den. "Honestly, I think Mockingstar is letting the bad situation influence his decisions more than he should. The famine has been steadily worsening over the past moon, and warriors are beginning to question whether Mockingstar really has a blessing from StarClan. You two were apprentices when he became leader, I'm sure you remember that declaration." Lavenderpaw pointed out. Applepaw and Bearpaw nodded quietly in response, seeming to think back to the early days of their apprenticeship, back when Lavenderpaw and Daisypaw were still kits in the nursery.

"He's trying to prove himself." Applepaw guessed. Lavenderpaw sighed.

"That's what I've been thinking, at least. He gets really touchy when a younger cat offers their view on things.. And since he's the oldest cat in the clan, that includes everyone." she pointed out. The group was quiet for a moment, all seeming lost in their own thoughts.

"Honestly, even back in those days where I was less than a moon into this apprenticeship, I felt like Mockingstar made up that blessing." Applepaw admitted, being the first to break the silence. Daisypaw's pelt bristled.

"Why are you always so negative? He's a leader, he wouldn't just lie about StarClan!" she hissed. Applepaw shook his head.

"Just think about it for a moment, Daisypaw! He comes back declaring he has this blessing from StarClan, right after we lost a leader that was heavily respected by the entire clan and was still being mourned over! Maybe you and your sisters were asleep, I don't know when Softpelt made you go back into the nursery, but that clan meeting seemed like him fishing for an excuse to brag! He looked so smug! Nobody in the clan seems to like him, other than his mate and his kits, and now there's a famine! StarClan could be punishing him for trying to be so bold as to lie to his entire clan!" the ginger tabby pointed out. Daisypaw faltered a bit at his reasoning, then seemed to debate in her mind whether or not she believed it.

"I don't know if I can believe that he would lie to us, unlikable or not," she finally decided. "But if it was a lie, then he needs to have his eyes clawed out for putting us all into this mess just to make himself seem cool. Especially if he won't even admit it and apologize for letting us all go hungry!"

"Finally, something we can agree on!"

"I should probably get back to the medicine den and see if Glimmerwind is back." Lavenderpaw decided. This whole conversation was making her belly and head hurt, and she no longer wanted a part of it. She stood quickly, and Bearpaw gently rested his paw on hers before she could move.

"Wait, you need to finish your squirrel! We just talked about needing to keep our strength up." he pointed out. Lavenderpaw dipped her head.

"I'll take it with me, but I really do need to get back. It was... Interesting, talking to all of you." she decided, stopping and gently picking up the remains of her meal. Bearpaw pulled his paw away, though he still didn't seem totally satisfied by the idea of her having to leave.

"Alright. I guess you must really be busy with the cats leaving tomorrow, huh?" he asked, trying not to sound disappointed. Lavenderpaw nodded, feeling better now with even the slight topic change.

"Yeah, I'm sure we will be. Glimmerwind told me we had some travelling herbs to prepare later, so I want to double-check that I put everything away correctly after Alligatorkit's little prank." she explained. Bearpaw cocked his head.

"What was a kit doing in the nursery?"

"Escaping from his mother and playing with the herbs. We had to throw some out, luckily it's still New-leaf and we can easily restock."

"That's really dangerous, though!"

"Glimmerwind said she was going to inform Violetscar that if it happened again, she would be requesting Alligatorkit remain in the nursery for an extra moon. He looked pretty scared straight by that." Lavenderpaw purred. Bearpaw nodded.

"It's important to respect our medicine cats and their den." he agreed. Lavenderpaw cracked a smile at that.

"True. Good night, Bearpaw. I'll see all of you in the morning."

"Night." Bearpaw called, and Lavenderpaw was already padding across camp toward the medicine den. The came to the small burrow quickly and stepped in, spotting Glimmerwind checking over the herb stores and pushing in a few new ones. She stepped curiously toward her mentor.

"Glimmerwind?" she asked softly. Glimmerwind twitched her ear, acknowledging that she'd heard, but didn't turn toward her apprentice. "Did you speak with Violetscar? I stopped by the nursery, but I didn't hear or see you there." she explained.

"Yes, and she seemed really upset that Alligatorkit was out causing trouble. She said she was going to talk over a punishment with Mockingstar after the kits were asleep. I decided that since you were reorganizing, I would be of more use going out to get some of what we would need tomorrow in case it was destroyed." she replied. Lavenderpaw stepped over to her nest and settled in it, dropping the squirrel between her paws.

"I finished organizing, went and checked on Wolfclaw, then got something to eat with the other apprentices. Did you know Wolfclaw was moving to the nursery?" she asked. Glimmerwind nodded, finally glancing toward her.

"When I was meeting with Violetscar, she asked me if I knew about Wolfclaw. I was going to mention it when I got back." she murmured. Lavenderpaw shook her head.

"It will be great for that secret to be out in the open. It's hard to lie to our clan-mates." she pointed out. Glimmerwind shifted uncomfortably and turned her gaze back to the herbs she had been putting away.

"Sometimes it's necessary." she replied coolly. Lavenderpaw sent a curious look toward her mentor, wondering what was up with her reaction, but decided against pushing the issue and took a bite off her squirrel.

"Will we be sending anything with the warriors?" she asked between this bite and her next, feeling much mort comfortable with finishing her prey in the comfort of her familiar den. Glimmerwind turned back to her, eyes brightening a bit at the question of herbs.

"We will be escorting the party to Death Mountain. There, we will eat and settle in for the night at the bottom of the mountains. We'll give them travelling herbs the morning after to suppress their hunger, so they can spend that day getting as far on their journey as possible before having to worry about prey, since we have no clue how much there is too catch up there. And, since you seemed so worried about the cats, I taught Shadowwhispers some of the basics so he would know how to help any cat who received a smaller injury," she explained. Lavenderpaw's ears perked.

"So Shadowwhispers is going on the journey?" she asked. Glimmerwind nodded.

"Mockingstar asked him yesterday if he wanted to lead the group, and he agreed. You know Shadowwhispers, he's always willing to step up and help his clan-mates." she murmured, sounding somewhat sad. Lavenderpaw knew that Glimmerwind was around Shadowwhisper's age, and was probably close friends with him like Lavenderpaw was with Bearpaw and Applepaw. Being apprentices together was just something that seemed to bring cats together.

"I'm sure he'll be fine. He's a good warrior, he'll probably keep the journey as safe as it could possibly be!" Lavenderpaw pointed out. Glimmerwind shrugged as she finished gathering together the herbs they were going to need.

"He'll do the best he can, I suppose." she agreed half-heartedly. Lavenderpaw finished the rest of her squirrel and stood, glancing over her mentor.

"Have you eaten yet today?" she questioned. Glimmerwind nodded.

"I have. Don't worry about me, Lavenderpaw, I'm your mentor. I can care for myself. You should get some rest though. Mockingstar will be announcing the travelling cats at sunhigh, so you'll have a long day tomorrow. Be ready for it." she ordered. Lavenderpaw nodded in agreement, before curling up in her nest more comfortably and closing her eyes. Glimmerwind was right, they would have a long day tomorrow, and it was important to be ready. That in mind, Lavenderpaw allowed herself to drift slowly off to sleep.


	9. Moon - Clan Meeting II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The cats who are going on the journey are announced! The clan is not pleased.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the week late update!

Moonpaw slowly crept forward, making sure to keep her paw-steps light and silent. Her eyes were focused intently on a squirrel, which appeared to be nibbling at something. Moonpaw tried to keep her entire mind focused on the fluffy creature, but she kept drifting to the thoughts of what was to happen later, the clan meeting that would determine the futures of several cats. She felt a little sick to her stomach for the third time that day, despite it not even being sun-high yet. She shivered and let out a heavy breath, feeling her tail brush over a branch. She realized just a moment too late that she had made too much noise, as the squirrel bolted off toward a tree.

Moonpaw squeaked and launched herself after the prey, hoping to catch it before it disappeared up into the tree. She pushed her legs as hard as she could, forcing herself to run as fast as she could. The squirrel was already running up a tree when she caught up, and threw herself toward the tree. She landed just beneath the furry creature, nails digging painfully into the bark. She winced and pulled a paw out, quickly licking at it. Luckily she hadn't broken any claws, and wasn't bleeding, but it did feel like it was throbbing in pain. She looked up to see the squirrel was already gone, and cursed under her breath as she carefully climbed back down.

"Moonpaw!" Darkfire called. Moonpaw winced at the irritated tone in her mentor's voice, and slowly turned to face him. The dark-furred tom approached her, tail slashing. "You could have easily caught that squirrel if you kept your tail steady. What happened?" he demanded. Moonpaw glanced back up toward the tree, not wanting to meet the tom's eyes. She knew he was right, that one tail movement had cost her the whole hunt.

"I'm just distracted I guess." she finally grumbled. Darkfire sighed in annoyance and shook his head.

"Well you need to stop being distracted and focus. We can't afford missing any prey, the fresh-kill pile is nearly empty!" he growled. Moonpaw didn't respond, looking shamefully down at her paws for a long moment. There was a tense silence until they heard a rustling in the undergrowth. Bluepaw burst out toward them, and bounded over proudly, Silverheart on her tail.

"Look, I got a sparrow! I didn't even need Silverheart's help!" the blue-gray she-cat purred, good eye shining in delight. Moonpaw quickly forced a purr.

"Good for you! I wish I was as good at hunting as you!" she complimented. Darkfire huffed.

"Maybe if you paid a little more attention, you would be." he pointed out coolly. Silverheart stepped toward him.

"Aw, be fair. They haven't even had a full moon of training, Moonpaw will figure it out eventually. She's already a fantastic fighter, I'm sure she'll start picking up on her other skills soon enough." she replied. Darkfire grunted, and turned back toward camp.

"Whatever. We need to report back to camp, Shadowwhispers said that the clan meeting was at sun-high." he mumbled. Silverheart dipped her head in agreement, padding forward to walk at his side. Moonpaw and Bluepaw trailed after their mentors, Bluepaw glancing curiously toward her white-furred friend.

"Hey, what's up with Darkfire? He seems crabby... Like, worse than usual." she whispered. Moonpaw shook her head.

"I have no idea, he's just been in a horrible mood for the past several days. Like, at first I thought it was the clan meeting or the prey shortage, but it's too constant to be either of those things. I think he got in trouble or something, he always sends the dirtiest look at the leader's den if we pass it." she explained. Bluepaw cocked her head curiously.

"I wonder what happened... You think Darkfire got chewed out for how aggressive he was at the last clan-meeting?" she asked. Moonpaw thought for a moment, continuing to pad along at her friend's side.

"No," she finally decided. "It only started a few days ago, way after the meeting. I think something happened a little more recently than that." she added. Bluepaw seemed to think harder for a moment, then looked disappointed.

"Well, I can't think of anything Darkfire's done recently that would get him in trouble. And we hang out with Roseear a lot, and she usually seems to know things Darkfire does so she can complain about him." she murmured. Moonpaw fixed her eyes on the black tom.

"Apparently they both don't like Mockingstar, so maybe Roseear just doesn't care because whatever makes Mockingstar mad isn't an issue to her." she suggested. Bluepaw sent her friend an odd glance, seeming to not know what she was talking about. "I saw them sitting together last clan meeting, and asked Darkfire about it after." she explained. Bluepaw fixed her eyes back forward, curiosity toward the dark tom now peaked.

"I didn't know he and Roseear could even stand being on the same side of camp!"

"Neither did I! That's why I noticed it, it was so strange."

"It's not nice to speak behind your mentor's back." Darkfire commented. Moonpaw nearly jumped out of her pelt at the sound of her mentor's voice, facing forward in time to see him give her an annoyed look before he brushed into camp. Silverheart winced a bit and looked back to the pair.

"Don't mind him, you two, he's just being irritable today. This whole journey is putting everyone on edge." she pointed out softly. She nodded toward the camp. "Go on in and see if any of the queens are hungry, Bluepaw. If not, then you may eat the bird yourself." she ordered. With that, the gray she-cat disappeared into camp. Bluepaw and Moonpaw shared an embarrassed look.

"Maybe next time we talk about Darkfire, we don't do it while walking right behind him?" Bluepaw suggested.

"Yeah, that might be for the best." Moonpaw agreed, feeling hot under her fur with embarrassment. "Anyway, let's go ahead and get that bird of yours to the queens, wouldn't want to get Silverheart upset too."

* * *

The she-cats had checked to see that the queens had already been fed and decided to settle down and share the bird amongst themselves. It was a bit small even to feed one cat, but everyone had been making sacrifices since the prey shortage had become apparent. Besides, Moonpaw couldn't exactly say she was very hungry today. She was nervous to hear who might be sent on the journey. She was pretty much positive that neither she nor Bluepaw would be chosen for the journey, as they were so young, but that didn't really protect either of their kin.

Calmwind and Shadowwhispers were both senior warriors, and Calmwind had seemed a bit upset over the past several days. Moonpaw wondered if her father had any clue over who was being picked for the journey, and might have told her. The very thought of her mother or father leaving and never returning left a lump in her throat, and made her shiver in fear during her dreams. Despite being some of the oldest clan cats, both were still healthy and strong. They would likely live for seasons more, if given the chance, and Moonpaw couldn't stand the thought of either dying, especially while away from home.

Would they even be able to journey to StarClan if they died out there? Moonpaw paused mid-bite at the thought, and pulled away from the sparrow, pushing it toward her friend.

"You can have the rest, I'm not really hungry." she murmured. Bluepaw looked to her friend curiously.

"Are you sure? You've barely eaten anything, there's still over half of it left." she pointed out. Moonpaw nodded.

"Yeah, I just... I'll eat later, when I'm actually ready to eat, I wasn't very hungry to begin with." she lied. She was too embarrassed to admit that she had lost her appetite thinking such morbid things. It felt very unlike her to get so wrapped up in everything like this, but with how all the cats around her had been acting lately... Something just told her in her gut that things were about to go horribly wrong today.

"Clan-mates, it is time!" Mockingstar's voice seemed to echo through the camp, which almost instantly fell into a dead silence. Moonpaw and Bluepaw shared a worried look, then both padded toward the gathering cats. Moonpaw paused and settled down near the back of the group, finding Softpelt sat beside Nightsoul. She pressed against the she-cat, feeling comforted by her presence. Softpelt had been in the nursery from before she was even born, and had bonded very closely with Calmwind over Moonpaw and Bluepaw's friendship. Softpelt seemed startled by the white she-cat's movements, but quickly recovered and lightly wrapped her blue-gray tail around her.

"Are you alright there, Moonpaw? I can help you find Calmwind if you're nervous." she gently offered. Moonpaw quickly shook her head, noting already where her mother was.

"I don't want to be up front." she whispered, her voice feeling as small as a kit's. Softpelt nodded and pulled her a bit closer with her tail.

"That's okay then. You'll be alright." she assured gently. Moonpaw nodded weakly, and felt Bluepaw press against her other side comfortingly. Moonpaw looked between the two blue-gray she-cats, noting for the first time just how similar they were. They were mother and daughter, so perhaps it was obvious they would be alike. And Moonpaw couldn't help but feel like they were also her kin in a way, even if not by blood.

Moonpaw watched as Glimmerwind and Lavenderpaw hopped up on the Towering Tree, settling on a branch beneath Mockingstar. Mockingstar was on one of the higher branches, by the little hole that contained the leader's den. Moonpaw had never seen in there before, and could hardly imagine how big it must be for Mockingstar and Shadowwhispers to have their meetings in there, as both were fairly large toms. Shadowwhispers was also sitting near Mockingstar, on a branch that was between the medicine cats' and the leader's branches.

"I announced that the party travelling to Death Mountain would be chosen on the night of the full moon, which is tonight. Glimmerwind has suggested that it would be best to announce the cats early so they may travel to Death Mountain and get final preparations done at the base before they begin this difficult trip, and I have agreed. I know many of you still disagree with this trip, but we must all put that disagreement behind us as we continue forward. It is the will of StarClan that we help the other clans, and so we must do that as soon as possible.

"Shadowwhispers has offered to lead the group. As the clan deputy, he has the skills and experience to lead properly and keep the party as safe as possible. We should all be grateful he has offered to go despite his position, and to make sure his fellow warriors make it safely to their destination." Mockingstar paused at this, looking over his clan-mates. There were soft murmurs of agreement, as most seemed to be in agreement over Shadowwhispers being a good cat to lead the group.

Moonpaw immediately felt sick. This was a confirmation of her fears that Shadowwhispers had a clue of who was going, at least when it came to himself. She was sure that was why Calmwind had been upset and distant the past few days. She looked up at Softpelt with big eyes, but the blue-gray she-cat seemed almost approving. Nightsoul seemed to notice Moonpaw's fear first and nudged his mate. Softpelt looked at him curiously, then turned her gaze down to Moonpaw.

"Oh, don't you worry. Shadowwhispers is the best choice for this climb! He's climbed the Star Mountains before with Glimmerwind, back when a badger made it's nest near the Forbidden Falls. Do you remember that, Nightsoul?" she asked, glancing toward the silver-muzzled tom. He purred in agreement.

"Shadowwhispers was only an apprentice then! I imagine he'll do just fine with the Death Mountain climb. He's a much better choice than any of us were expecting Mockingstar to pick." Nightsoul agreed. Moonpaw couldn't help but feel like the warriors were trying to be over-enthusiastic about Shadowwhispers being a good choice to dissuade her fears, and that only made her more nervous. Star Mountains were one thing, Death Mountain was another. One had been explored, the other was rumored to be horrific.

"As you all know, Shadowwhispers has been mentoring Bearpaw for the past several moons, and that young tom has come very far over that time." Mockingstar added. Moonpaw sat up tall and tried her best to look over the crowd, and finally managed to locate the dark brown tabby. Bearpaw was sitting between his mother and brother, sitting tall with pricked ears. Moonpaw wondered why, but suddenly remembered that he and Applepaw had gone to Star-cavern a few days ago. Were they about to have their warrior ceremony? She could tell Bearpaw and Applepaw were both wondering the same thing from the way they were sitting, eyes focused intently on the leader.

"Because of this, I believe that Bearpaw would be a good addition to the party. Instead of a final assessment, Bearpaw will be joining his mentor on the trip to Death Mountain!" Mockingstar barely had time to finish what he was saying Firefoot let out a wail of fear. The bright ginger queen wrapped her fluffy tail around her son's body and buried her face in his shoulder. She seemed very upset to Moonpaw, who couldn't help but feel bad. She was scared for her father to be leaving, but she couldn't imagine how Firefoot was feeling. Firefoot already had lost her mate, Moonpaw had never really lost anybody.

Wolfclaw was sitting in front of Moonpaw, and jumped to her paws upon hearing her mother. She weaved quickly through the crowd and made her way over to Firefoot, and brushed up on her mother's opposite side, and seemed to speak quietly to her. Wolfclaw managed to soothe her mother enough to quiet her, and the clan tried their best to settle again. Moonpaw could still feel a heaviness in the air though.

She was not prepared for what came next.

"Darkfire and his apprentice are the next pair that will be going along on this trip." This time, Mockingstar was not able to get all the words out before cats were speaking over him. From the moment the word 'apprentice' left his mouth, Calmwind let out a furious yowl.

"You are sending my mate on this trip, you will NOT be sending my baby!" she snarled. Calmwind's pelt was bristling, and doubled her size. In that moment, she looked as big as Mockingstar, if not bigger. Moonpaw could almost see the spit flying out of her mother's mouth as she spat out each word in anger. "Moonpaw is hardly older than a kit, she needs to stay at camp where it is safe!"

"No apprentice benefits from being babied, Calmwind. I chose Moonpaw because she is showing a lot of promise as Darkfire's apprentice-"

"What good is that promise, if she doesn't live to receive her warrior name and serve the clan!? She will NOT be going, I WON'T allow it!"

"She's not a kit anymore, you have no sway over her going! That's up to her mentor now." Mockingstar snapped. He turned his gaze on Darkfire, who was sitting toward the middle of the crowd between Roseear and Silverheart. Mockingstar's lips curled in a sickening smile. "And I assume that it will be no problem? You agree that the pair of you will do well on this journey, don't you Darkfire?" he asked, voice sounding somewhere between sickeningly sweet and a threat. Darkfire's pelt bristled slightly, and he looked down toward his paws.

"If you think I belong on this trip, then I will go. I would prefer if Moonpaw stayed here and was reassigned to a different mentor, but if you think she must go, then I'll do everything I can to protect her on the journey." Darkfire responded, his voice sounding uncharacteristically meek. Roseear turned to look at Darkfire, and from the half of her face that Moonpaw could see, she seemed shocked. This only confirmed in Moonpaw's mind that Darkfire had indeed done something that got him in trouble. And given how nervous his voice sounded, she wondered if it warranted serious punishment or shame if it were to be found out.

"And I do feel she must go. Therefore, Moonpaw will be on this trip with Darkfire." Mockingstar replied decidedly. Moonpaw bristled slightly at how smug the leader looked, and felt sick to think of the fact that he seemed to be blackmailing her mentor. Calmwind looked stunned for only a moment, having likely expected Darkfire to stand up to their leader as he had previously, but she recovered quickly and turned her icy green gaze back to Mockingstar.

"I don't care what you say, my kit will not be going." she snarled again. Moonpaw heard Softpelt growl beside her, and felt the she-cat's tail curl more protectively around her. Moonpaw thought the warrior might be trembling, but assured herself that it was only her growls.

"Don't worry, little one, we will fight for you." Softpelt whispered gently. Moonpaw looked numbly up at the former queen, and then toward Nightsoul, who also seemed to have narrowed eyes and a low growl rumbling in his throat.

"She WILL be going. Darkfire is her mentor, and she belongs with her mentor. He has agreed that she will be able to go." Mockingstar snapped, beginning to look irritated.

"He said he would prefer for her to be reassigned, like a REASONABLE leader would do." Silverheart cut in, hopping to her paws. Her tail slashed over the ground, and she somehow managed to look bigger than Darkfire in that moment, despite normally being much smaller than him. Glimmerwind stepped in at this point.

"Darkfire... and Moonpaw... Were both chosen because Mockingstar believes that even the youngest apprentices deserve a chance to prove themselves. If we truly felt she wasn't ready, she wouldn't be going. I know it's a huge shock and there's a lot of fear, but StarClan will be with our clan-mates on this journey, and I'm sure they will all return safely." she insisted. The clan tended to trust Glimmerwind, if the previous clan meeting had been any indication, but Moonpaw could tell a lot of cats were still very iffy on this whole thing. She herself wasn't exactly sure that Mockingstar was making the right choice. Mockingstar himself was silent, but sending an icy glare in Darkfire and Silverheart's general direction.

"I will personally take responsibility if anything is to happen to Moonpaw. And if Shadowwhispers will be leading the party, you know he won't let anything happen to her either. I'm sure Glimmerwind was just as against her going as any of us would be when Mockingstar suggested it, but they've spoken over this for nearly half a moon, and I doubt he will change his mind for any of us." Darkfire pointed out. Mockingstar's eyes narrowed, as if he seemed annoyed by the way Darkfire had worded his response, but he remained silent to see if there were any other objections.

Calmwind shook her head in anger, but Shadowwhispers let out a heavy sigh. "Darkfire's right. Don't worry, Moonpaw will be protected. I won't let any cats die on my watch, everyone can be sure of that." he declared. Calmwind sent a startled look toward her mate, then bristled and let out a furious scream before turning and stalking off through the crowd, searching for Moonpaw. Softpelt beckoned her, and the golden-brown she-cat quickly made her way over and settled behind Moonpaw, pulling her daughter close and licking at her ears. Moonpaw would have usually complained, but decided she would allow her mother to groom her this one time, as it seemed to be comforting to the former queen. Mockingstar waited for the clan to settle again before continuing. This time, the tension was so thick, Moonpaw felt like she could drown in it.

"The final two cats on this trip will be Silverheart and Blue-"

"I will NOT take Bluepaw. You can take that idea and SHOVE IT." Silverheart hissed. Mockingstar looked startled, his tail twitching and fluffing up. Softpelt also jumped to her paws, letting out a hiss of irritation.

"Of course she won't be going, she's been training less than a moon, and she should be staying here! Moonpaw shouldn't be going either! Why are you trying to send out cats that have less than a moon of experience outside the nursery, the whole point of your decision was to choose cats that had a fighting chance of returning home in the future!" Softpelt hissed. Mockingstar looked incredibly fed up at this point.

"Softpelt, she's going, and that's final. Silverheart, you need to obey your leader and take a note from Darkfire." he growled out. Silverheart shook her head.

"I don't know what Darkfire's deal is today, but I'm not going to just bow down to what you say on this. Bluepaw is not ready to go. I'm her mentor, I KNOW her. She's young and she would be put in more danger than I am willing to place her in if we were to climb Death Mountain. When you placed her in my care as my first apprentice, it became my responsibility to make sure she goes through her apprenticeship safely and comes out the other side as a warrior. I won't let anyone get in the way of that goal, even if it's my own leader." Silverheart responded. The gray she-cat stood firm, eyes locked on Mockingstar.

Mockingstar didn't seem to know how to respond to that. His pelt was bristling in annoyance, and his tail was whacking leaves and branches behind him. Finally, the tom leaped down from his perch, startling many cats in the front row. To her credit, Silverheart didn't falter a bit, and just followed the leader with her eyes. Moonpaw felt her mother tense behind her, and pull her even closer. Moonpaw was just fascinated by the amount of bravery her sister possessed, given how their own mother had somehow been talked down from not allowing Moonpaw to go on the journey.

"You would disobey the warrior code?" Mockingstar finally asked, voice chilly.

"I didn't say that." Silverheart responded, voice somehow managing to maintain both a soft volume and dignified tone at the same time.

"The warrior code states that the leader's word is law. You are talking about disobeying a direct order from me. Therefore, you ARE saying that you will go against the warrior code."

"Well then, I guess I am if you want to see it that way. But I'm pretty sure the warrior code was decided on with the idea of more reasonable cats being in charge. Clearly, you are not the tom that the code's deciders had in mind." Silverheart shot back. Mockingstar's pelt puffed, and he looked to be the size of a badger. He trembled visibly in anger at the young she-cat's insult.

"How dare you speak to me that way!" he snarled. Silverheart's tail flashed.

"You've been speaking to everyone like we just have to do as you say and not question you. Well I won't do that, not when it's my apprentice's life on the line. And I won't apologize for standing up against someone trying to send a couple 'paws on this trip. You have to be completely insane if you think any of this is a good idea!" she snapped. Mockingstar's eyes seemed to darken.

"I won't take disobedience like this, Silverheart. You'd be best not to try me." he growled out, his voice low and terrifying.

"And YOU'D be best not to threaten her! Your title isn't scaring anyone! Silverheart's the only one not being a coward, and you don't get to bully her into being one!" Hazelflight's voice rang out. The golden-brown she-cat had been sitting at Roseear's opposite side, but had pushed her way past to stand closer to Silverheart, just in front of Darkfire. Mockingstar seemed startled to hear someone else speak out, clearly having expected to only have to deal with Silverheart.

"Hazelflight is right, you're going way too far!" Nightsoul chipped in, also standing. He began to brush his way through the crowd, toward the brave she-cats. Mockingstar's head snapped toward the gray tom as well, again startled. Moonpaw watched in amazement as other cats began to murmur their agreements, having seen that there were at least two other cats brave enough to speak out.

Moonpaw looked up toward Shadowwhispers, who had been watching from his spot on the tree. He seemed stunned, and somewhat regretful. Moonpaw wondered why her father wasn't speaking out, and wished he was. He was the clan deputy, surely other cats would trust him. But the gray and black tabby just sat where he was, looking toward Nightsoul with a grateful look.  _He wouldn't need to stand up if you would, why don't you say something?_ Moonpaw couldn't imagine being a deputy too afraid to stand up to her own leader... Though, she herself was scared of Mockingstar. She was hopeful that she would never have to serve as a senior warrior under the dark tom.

"You all-" Mockingstar began, then cut himself off. His pelt bristled, and for once he seemed to be the one trapped. He shook his head and clambered back up the tree, settling on the branch he had been laying on. He didn't look very happy. In fact, he seemed to be boiling with rage, and barely holding it in. There was a long, tense silence.

"Aw, what's wrong? Being all huffy because Silverheart has friends?" Hazelflight called. Moonpaw was both startled by the she-cat's uncharacteristic taunting, and fascinated by her clear loyalty to her friends. She had pushed her way between Darkfire and Silverheart, and was not standing proudly at the gray she-cat's side. Mothpaw had mentioned that Roseear, Silverheart, and Hazelflight appeared to be very good friends, but she had never really noticed it herself until now. She admired the she-cat's ability to drop her easy-going nature to stand up for her friends, and decided that she would love to be just like the young warrior in the future.

Mockingstar seemed quite a bit less impressed. He trembled slightly, and Moonpaw wondered if the cats near him could hear a growl escape him. She worried he might launch himself into the crowd at any moment to attack, but to his credit he did have some impulse control. He fixed his gaze intensely on Hazelflight and instead spoke in a chilly voice. "If you want to behave this way, then perhaps you should go with your apprentice in their place."

Moonpaw shuddered at how threatening the voice sounded, but Hazelflight just stood unblinking. There was a deafening silence as the two cats had a stare-down. Finally, Hazelflight straightened up to her full height and nodded.

"Alright, we'll go. Applepaw, I hope you're ready for a trip." she growled, sending a glance of toward her apprentice. Firefoot was trembling again as she began to circle around her sons in a nervous sort of way. Moonpaw couldn't hear what she was saying, but she could tell she was whispering something. Mockingstar dipped his head.

"Good. Then it's settled. Shadowwhispers, Darkfire, Hazelflight, Bearpaw, Applepaw, and Moonpaw are going on this trip. I will hear no more arguments, and you will leave now." he spat. With that, the massive tom turned and stalked back into his den. Glimmerwind stepped forward in his place, trembling slightly. She was clearly shaken and nervous, but her voice managed to come out calm.

"Lavenderpaw and I will escort the journeying cats. We have a few more things to prepare, so go ahead and say your farewells. We don't know how long this trip will take, so it may be moons before you see these cats again." she announced. That said, Glimmerwind sent and apologetic look around at each of her clan-mates, before leaping down and beckoning Lavenderpaw to follow her to the medicine den.

Moonpaw was stunned at what had happened, but relieved that Hazelflight and Silverheart had won their battle against Mockingstar. Even if she had to go on this dangerous journey, she didn't want Bluepaw to be forced to go as well. Besides, if she was the only one who wasn't sure what to do, then it would be easier on the older cats to keep track of her than if there were two confused apprentices.

"My little Moonpaw." Calmwind murmured, pressing her face to the top of her daughter's head. Moonpaw glanced back toward her mother, huddling a little closer to her.

"It's okay, I'll be with Shadowwhispers and Darkfire! They'll know what to do if anything happens." she pointed out gently, noting how distraught the golden-brown tabby looked. Calmwind shook her head, tail puffing up in irritation.

"They're both cowards who won't speak out against their leader, even for their own daughter!" she hissed, eyes moving up and locking fiercely on a target. Shadowwhispers had been making his way over, but paused when he noted how his mate was glaring at him. He then ducked his head, and backed off, going instead toward Silverheart. However, his older daughter seemed to have the same amount of tolerance toward him as Calmwind had, and he ended up being rejected. At that point, he dragged himself off toward the medicine cat den, seeming pretty down.

Moonpaw felt bad for her father, but could understand why Calmwind and Silverheart were so irritated. He was the deputy, and he had refused to stand up when many of the younger warriors had. Still, she hoped things would turn out alright and he would get his goodbyes. This was going to be a long trip, who knew when they would all see each other again? Moonpaw could only hope that the answer to that would be sooner than she thought.


	10. Apple - Goodbyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The party is escorted to where their journey will start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As stated before, sorry for the late update! From now on, Moon and Apple chapters should go up at the same time due to them typically taking up a full day between the two of them, and being connected by being on the journey. So, they may be a bit later in general, but I will try my best to continue my rough schedule of Tuesdays!

Applepaw was still stunned as he watched Mockingstar brush back into the leader's den.  _Did all that really just happen?_ He had been somewhat relieved when he and Hazelflight weren't chosen, though he had felt bad for Bluepaw and Moonpaw. But then Hazelflight had jumped in and suddenly he WAS going on the trip!? It all seemed to happen so fast, his head was spinning. Firefoot was shaking and circling Applepaw and Bearpaw, her voice barely audible even to the ginger tom.

"Not by babies, not both my sons-" Firefoot was chanting those phrases over and over again, looking badly shaken. Wolfclaw watched their mother circling, looking helpless as she tried to stammer out comforting words, though they weren't working nearly as well as they had been when Bearpaw was initially chosen. Firefoot had been able to hold it together at the idea of losing only one kit, but two of three was clearly really getting to her.

"Firefoot, it's okay. Please calm down." Bearpaw begged softly. The dark brown tabby hated seeing anyone upset, and that was doubly so for his kin. Firefoot shook her head, finally coming to a stop when Wolfclaw stepped in the way of her path and urged her to sit. The bright ginger she-cat sat down heavily, then crouched tensely. She looked very small, and Applepaw noted for the first time just how old his mother was becoming. Come this time next new-leaf, his mother would likely move to the elder-s den.

"You two will be going out there to die. Mockingstar is pushing for this death mission, and now my sons are going to die. You three are all I have left of Cove, and soon there will only be one-" Firefoot choked. Wolfclaw licked at her mother's ears, just as she had done back when Applepaw had died in his StarClan dream. Just like Firefoot had done many time when she was a queen and they were her kits. The time of being Wolfkit, Applekit, and Bearkit seemed so far away at that moment, but he wondered if Firefoot saw it the opposite way. He supposed he would know if he ever had kits in the future, but for now he wasn't sure what to think or do.

"Wolfclaw, StarClan will walk with these travelling cats. I'm sure of it!" she pointed out. Firefoot didn't look at any of her kits, her eyes were just focused blankly in front of her.

"They aren't even warriors yet. Bearpaw and Applepaw should have their warrior names before they leave, why is Mockingstar making them prove themselves?" she whimpered. Applepaw felt his heart break even more, hearing his usually strong mother whimper so pathetically. She sounded like an unsure kit, despite being the eldest warrior in the camp. Wolfclaw pressed her muzzle between Firefoot's ears desperately, clearly wanting to help in any way she could.

"Cove will be with them, watching from StarClan. He'll watch out for his kits, you know that! He's our father, he cares just as much as you do." she desperately began to ramble. Applepaw looked toward Bearpaw, who was just watching with a highly upset look. Applepaw himself wasn't sure what to say, Wolfclaw had always been better with calming others down. Firefoot still didn't look at her kits.

"Yes." she responded simply. "Cove cares for his kits." Wolfclaw nodded at her mother's response and continued to comfort her as best she could. After a moment, Bearpaw crouched beside her.

"Don't worry, I'll come back alive. I promise you that I'll come back to HarmonyClan. I'm not going to die up in those mountains, i plan to do that here many, many seasons from now when you're in StarClan." he promised, his voice and eyes intense. He stared at Firefoot until she slowly turned her gaze to meet his, the cloudiness fading as they stared at each other. Applepaw nodded in agreement.

"I'll come home too! I'm going to StarClan as a warrior, not an apprentice! There's nothing to worry about!" he agreed. Firefoot glanced toward him as well, then met Bearpaw's eyes again. There was a long silence before she finally nodded.

"Okay... If you promise you'll return to HarmonyClan alive... I think I can let you go. I'll be waiting here, and I won't retire until the two of you are safe." she added. Firefoot had mentioned possibly retiring a few times since Wolfclaw announced she was expecting, but now she had seemed to extend her time as a warrior. Instead of retiring when Stripepaw became a warrior, as she had been discussing, she was going to keep going until she was sure her kits were safe, no matter how long they were gone. Applepaw nodded, happy to see his mother seemed to be getting the fight back in her.

"Good." Bearpaw murmured, pressing his muzzle to Firefoot's ear. Firefoot nodded in agreement, and Wolfclaw settled by her mother, seeming relieved.

Applepaw glanced up to see Turtleshell, sitting a good distance away, just out of earshot. He twitched his tail in a beckoning manner, as if asking Applepaw to come over to him. Applepaw hesitated for a moment, glancing toward his brother. Bearpaw also seemed to have noticed Turtleshell, and had sat up, pulling away from their mother. The two shared a look, then made their way over to their lanky friend, who was waiting patiently for them.

"What's up?" Bearpaw asked, seeming wary. Applepaw couldn't blame him for that, it was only sun-high and already he felt tired. Turtleshell's gaze seemed to move through him, back toward Firefoot and Wolfclaw again. He was silent for another beat before speaking.

"Wolfclaw is moving to the nursery today. Violetscar told me that they had a nest ready for her a few moments ago, since she was busy over there with you and your mother." he noted. Bearpaw looked surprised, but Applepaw nodded. Wolfclaw had begun to show many more obvious signs of pregnancy recently, and cats were gossiping about her.  _Might as well give them more to gossip about._ Applepaw glanced back toward Wolfclaw.

"She only has a moon left, right? She's at the halfway point." he noted. Turtleshell sighed.

"Yeah. But you don't need to worry about her, okay? She'll be safe in the nursery, and I will do my best to continue to take care of her... She'll need that especially when the kits actually get here." he murmured. Applepaw nodded.

"I think you two will be okay while we're gone. Wolfclaw's a natural when it comes to acting like a mom. She was the first-born after all, and she never let us forget that." he purred lightly, thinking about his days as a kit and younger apprentice, when his sister had always been at his side. She had taken a lot after Firefoot in those days, and while it had been unbearably annoying then, it seemed so endearing to him now. He would miss his sister terribly, and hoped that he would be here to meet her kits when they were born, though he knew there was a chance he would be gone for so much longer.

"Will you look after Firefoot too? I think she's going to still be upset, even if she's trying her best to pull it together now." Bearpaw asked. Turtleshell dipped his head.

"Of course! If that's what you want, then I'll do anything I can while you two are gone!" he agreed easily. Bearpaw purred and bumped his head against the smaller tom, seeming to feel a bit better.

"Thanks, Turtleshell. You're a good friend." he decided. He glanced off in the direction of Moonpaw and her family, and frowned deeply upon seeing his mentor slinking off toward the medicine den. "I should probably go check on Shadowwhispers, it looks like Calmwind and their daughters are all pretty upset." he added. With that, the broad-shouldered tabby bounded off after the deputy, determined to help his mentor if he could. Applepaw sighed softly and glanced toward Turtleshell.

"Bearpaw is perfectly suited for this trip. We're going to help some random clan, right? That's such a Bearpaw thing to do." he decided, shaking his head. Turtleshell nodded in agreement.

"Bearpaw's really nice. It makes Wolfclaw worry a lot. Both of you do." he noted. Applepaw glanced toward Turtleshell in surprise.

"Really? Why does she worry about me?" he asked.

"You're a grump, you don't get along well with a lot of cats. The group you hang around is awfully small, you know. Your littermates, Lavenderpaw, and me. That's all you've ever really gotten along with for the most part." Turtleshell pointed out. Applepaw could tell that while Turtleshell was trying to frame it as Wolfclaw's worries, that some of his own were seeping in as well. Applepaw felt bad, thinking of how he'd been treating his friend lately. They had been so inseparable as apprentices, but since the revelation of his sister's pregnancy, he had been somewhat rude to the younger tom.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry, I have been really grumpy... And distant. Especially lately, with all the stress and worry of everything happening. But you are still my brother. Maybe not by blood, but... You know what I mean, please don't make me explain it." he mumbled, feeling embarrassed as he looked away. Turtleshell purred a bit.

"Since when did you become such a softy?" he teased lightly. Applepaw sent him a playfully dirty look.

"Don't make fun of me, we're supposed to be having a moment." he shot back, matching the tone. He straightened a bit. "And I know I've been really hard on you about the Wolfclaw thing... I still wish you two waited until you were warriors, but... I can tell you two really care about each other, and I'm happy for you." he finished. Turtleshell looked a bit startled at this second admission, but purred and smiled warmly.

"Thanks... That means a lot. I do love your sister more than anything." he agreed quietly. "And I'm really gonna miss you being around... I wish we had this conversation before so we could have patrolled together a few times over the past moon... But I guess it's too late for that now." Turtleshell stood. "You be careful. You promised Firefoot you would be back, right? You better keep that promise. There's gonna be more than one cat holding you to it. And if I have to meet you again in StarClan, I'll claw your ears off."

"It's a deal." Applepaw purred, nudging Turtleshell with his shoulder. The warrior grinned at him before standing and bounding off toward Wolfclaw and Firefoot, leaving Applepaw to watch him. Applepaw couldn't help but already start to miss all three of them, seeing them all sitting together like that, but he was cut off by hearing his name called by Hazelflight.

His mentor was sitting off toward the camp entrance, her sister at her side. Applepaw carefully made his way over, taking care to avoid getting to close to any cats that might draw him into conversation. He made it to Hazelflight and Smokerise, who were chatting quietly until he approached, at which Hazelflight straightened up and looked down at him. He could still see an angry, fiery look in her eyes from her previous confrontation, and decided that he should probably be careful with upsetting her for the time being.

"Are you ready to go?" Hazelflight asked, annoyance still in her tone. Applepaw nodded meekly.

"Yeah. I said all my goodbyes and everything." he replied. Hazelflight nodded. She didn't look pleased, but Applepaw doubted that she would be happy with any answer given their current situation.

"That's good. We're still waiting on the medicine cats, so it would be really helpful if you could check on Bearpaw and Moonpaw and how ready they are." she decided. Applepaw nodded toward the medicine cat den.

"I don't know about Moonpaw, but Bearpaw went off with Shadowwhispers to make sure he was okay and see if anyone else needed help. Other than that, I think he's pretty ready to go as well." he informed her. Hazelflight snorted.

"Oh right, our great deputy who can't even stand up for his own kits. He shouldn't be deputy, let alone put in charge of anything with how pathetic that whole display was. If my daughter was being sent out on a journey she wasn't ready for, I would tear the throat out of the leader before I let her go anywhere." she snarled. Applepaw was taken aback by how aggressive and nasty her tone was. He had never heard his mentor talk like that, and already found himself missing her light-hearted friendliness.

"Shadowwhispers is still Bearpaw's mentor, whether he's cut out for being deputy or not." he defended weakly. Hazelflight and Shadowwhispers had gotten along so well before, mentoring their littermate apprentices together, but Hazelflight held no warmth in her eyes for the tom now.

"Whatever. Go check and see how Moonpaw's doing, would ya?" she grumbled. Applepaw dipped his head and turned, bounding off toward the group that was still gathered in the middle of the clearing. Moonpaw was practically being smothered by Calmwind, Silverheart, Softpelt, and Bluepaw. He could hear the she-cats growling amongst themselves, and picked out Mockingstar's name between a few insults as he approached.

"Hey, Moonpaw!" he called. The white she-cat's ears perked at her name, and she managed to separate herself enough from Calmwind to see him, her amber eyes questioning. "Hazelflight wants me to make sure you and Bearpaw are ready to head out when the medicine cats give the order." he explained. Moonpaw nodded easily.

"Yeah, I'm ready!" she agreed, pausing and glancing toward Calmwind and Silverheart. She was quiet for a moment, seeming to look for words to say, and finally spoke. "You should say goodbye to Shadowwhispers too when he comes out... He looked sad when he saw how angry you both were." she suggested. Calmwind scoffed, looking totally uninterested in speaking to her mate, despite the circumstances.

"Moonpaw's right. You're angry now, but... You never know what could happen on the journey. You don't wanna regret anything that goes down." Applepaw pointed out, noting that Moonpaw looked somewhat desperate. The white she-cat looked at her fellow apprentice gratefully before nodding and looking back toward her mother. Calmwind opened her mouth to argue, took a look at her daughter's face, and closed it again. She glanced off toward the medicine den, suddenly seeming deep in thought.

"You and your brother deserve to be warriors at this point. It's ridiculous that he's sending three apprentices out! Even if he's so desperate to send you two out with the group, the least he could do is give you warrior names." Silverheart decided, looking genuinely annoyed and upset as Hazelflight had. "You certainly shouldn't have to prove yourselves on a dumb journey. No one before or after you will have to, so it's just unfair to expect you to!"

"His word is law, so it's not like we have any choice anymore. No warrior names until we get back. And after the whole Bluepaw situation, you know he's stubborn enough to keep to that promise for a LONG time." Applepaw pointed out. Bluepaw's good eye widened at that idea, before she nodded sadly in agreement. Applepaw glanced toward the medicine den, and noted that Shadowwhispers was approaching, head down. Bearpaw and the medicine cats were following behind him, and Bearpaw looked nervous already, eyes fixed on the formerly raging Calmwind.

"We're ready to leave." he informed them, eyes fixing on Moonpaw. She was clearly the least intimidating, and the only she-cat who hadn't previously expressed anger toward the weary deputy. Moonpaw nodded, turning and bounding off toward the waiting Hazelflight. Shadowwhispers began to follow her, only for Calmwind to step in his path.

"Please return safely. I don't want anything to happen to you, even if you have made me mad." she admitted softly. Shadowwhispers looked up at his mate, startled by her gentle tone, but nodded. "And you better bring our Moonpaw back too, okay? I don't want another..." she trailed off. Shadowwhispers pressed against his mate and nuzzled her side.

"I will return Moonpaw safely, you can guarantee that. Bouncepaw was one too many of our kits dying before us." he replied. The tom pulled away and looked into Calmwind's eyes. "None of our daughters will die as apprentices. I promise."

* * *

As the group was making their way down the slope, Applepaw heard pawsteps crashing down the slope after them. Hazelflight paused and glanced behind them, which prompted Applepaw to follow his mentor's gaze. Coming toward them were Roseear and Mothpaw, and their golden pelts seemed to be a welcome sight for Hazelflight, who completely turned to meet them as they caught up to the group.

"What are you two doing here?" Hazelflight asked. Her tone wasn't nearly as harsh as it had been even moments ago, and Applepaw was again amazed by just how much Roseear's presence could lift his mentor's mood. Roseear and Mothpaw both had come to a stop, several paces behind the group, who had all stopped at this point. Roseear lightly touched her tail to her apprentice's flank.

"When Mothpaw heard that you would be staying the night at the mountains base, she asked me if we could escort you there as well, then bring the medicine cats home. So... If you're willing to have us..." Roseear trailed off expectantly.

"Of course." Hazelflight agreed, not an ounce of hesitation in her voice. Applepaw was relieved, hoping that Roseear would help to lift his mentor's spirits, and keep the trip from being tense and awkward. He had been dreading a fight between Hazelflight and the two warrior toms, given the dirty looks she had been giving both of them, but now there seemed to be a light at the end!

"Yeah, let's get going." Shadowwhispers called back, keeping his voice light so as not to upset Hazelflight. The deputy still seemed keenly aware of how annoyed Hazelflight in particular was, and clearly was tiptoeing around the issue as much as possible. Applepaw couldn't really blame him, as the brief view of Hazelflight's anger had been enough to scare him off from getting on her bad side as well. Not that he wanted to be there in the first place, of course.

Hazelflight didn't acknowledge Shadowwhispers at all, but Roseear nodded her agreement and the group started to walk again. They walked in a trail of pairs, with Shadowwhispers and Darkfire leading, Glimmerwind and Lavenderpaw next, Hazelflight and Roseear, Applepaw now relegated to following his mentor at Mothpaw's side, and Bearpaw trailing along at the back of the group with Moonpaw. Applepaw glanced toward Mothpaw, who seemed to be full of a nervous energy as she padded along beside him. She wasn't looking at anyone except her father, though Applepaw thought she seemed to be tensely aware of her sister behind her.

Applepaw could tell that the golden she-cat seemed intensely worried for her father and littermate, and sympathized pretty heavily with her. After all, Bearpaw was going as well. Even if Applepaw felt Bearpaw was a natural choice, it didn't make him any less scared for the tom. Of course, he was going while Mothpaw got to remain here, but he figured it must be terrifying either way.

"I've never been across here before." Mothpaw noted, voice soft. Applepaw was nearly startled by the sound of her voice at all, but glanced over at her. Roseear and Hazelflight were now in a single-file line as they crossed the fallen tree, the only way to cross the river without getting wet. Applepaw nodded for her to go first.

"It's not that bad. Just make sure you walk carefully and keep a grip on the bark with your claws and you'll get over just fine." Applepaw replied. Mothpaw nodded, somewhat nervously, and stepped onto the tree, carefully making her way forward. Applepaw waited until he saw Roseear stepping off and joining Hazelflight on the opposite side before he climbed up after Mothpaw and followed, much more confidently. Mothpaw glanced back, suddenly seeming worried when she noticed how much faster he was moving, and turned back forward to start a faster pace.

"Hey, you don't have to rush. You can-" Applepaw began. He was cut off by a squeak from Mothpaw as one of her paws slipped and her body seemed to slam forward. Applepaw watched in a split second of paralysis as Mothpaw hit the side of her jaw on the tree. As the rest of her body began to slip from the tree, Applepaw surged forward and caught her by the scruff. Mothpaw had been startled by the pain of hitting her face, but was not beginning to flail as she came back in her senses and saw the river below. Applepaw knew he wasn't holding her scruff right, that this wasn't how a queen would lift her kits. But given he couldn't swim, and highly doubted Mothpaw could either, anything had to be better than letting her fall.

"MOTHPAW!" Moonpaw screeched from behind. He heard the tiny she-cat scramble up onto the tree and wobble her way over, brushing against his pelt before she stopped. He could feel the pale she-cat trembling slightly as she looked at her littermate. "APPLEPAW, HELP HER!"

_I am!_ He wanted to hiss at her, but was afraid to say anything. If he dropped her, he wasn't sure if any of the others could swim out to save her. It wasn't exactly a thing warriors were required to teach their apprentices. He knew Smokerise could fish, and Wolfclaw had claimed that Smokerise had tried to teach herself to swim, but Smokerise wasn't really anywhere near them, and Hazelflight didn't seem like she shared her sister's interest in the river.

"Applepaw, I'm coming." Roseear's voice called. Applepaw wanted to ask her how she sounded so calm. Her apprentice was hanging over a tree, flailing and hissing in terror! But again, speaking seemed dangerous at this point, so he remained silent with his teeth digging into the younger apprentice's scruff. Applepaw's claws were digging into the bark as he struggled to keep hold of the golden apprentice, whose movements were becoming more and more erratic. Applepaw was full grown at this point, and likely not to get any bigger, while Mothpaw still did have the chance to potentially grow larger in the next couple moons. But at this point in time, she was already nearly the same size as the small tom, and that was not helping him at all with holding the struggling she-cat.

"Mothpaw, stop moving or Applepaw will drop you." Roseear ordered, her voice brisk and close. Mothpaw stopped moving at once, looking up with huge green eyes. Now that she was no longer moving, Roseear crouched down and took hold of one of Mothpaw's hind legs. "Pull!" Roseear and Applepaw both dragged the golden she-cat upward. Mothpaw winced a bit at Roseear's grip on her leg, but obeyed whatever was going to get her back up on solid bridge.

Mothpaw finally got her paws on the bridge and stood quickly, her saviors quickly releasing her. Roseear turned and started back along the bridge, twitching her tail in an order to follow. Mothpaw wobbled a bit, catching her breath, before slowly following after her mentor. Applepaw trailed after the golden she-cat, feeling Moonpaw following close behind him. Shadowwhispers was waiting anxiously at Hazelflight's side, and practically pounced on Mothpaw when she hopped down to the solid earth.

"Thank StarClan you're okay!" he hissed, pressing his muzzle to the top of his daughter's head, between her now flattened ears. Roseear waited for the other three apprentices to join them on the riverbank before she spoke.

"Now, Applepaw handled that situation very well for what it was. But I want all of you-" Roseear looked around until she was sure each apprentice was looking at her, even Mothpaw who was being nosed over by her father, who seemed to be checking for injuries. "-to be sure that you don't make situations worse with your actions. If you are EVER in a situation where another cat is holding on to you over some height, then you are not to flail around like a bird trying to escape. Birds do that to be let go and fly away, you can't fly away if you are let go. You will fall, and depending on the height, die." Roseear's voice was firm and blunt, but not completely unkind. She clearly took what she was saying very seriously, and Applepaw couldn't help but agree. He had really struggled with keeping his grip on poor, terrified Mothpaw.

"Applepaw was fortunate to keep his grip, Mothpaw. You would have drowned if he hadn't been able to keep hold of you, because no cat here can swim. You need to thank him for what he did. The rest of you try to keep this situation in mind as you climb, because it can be very hard to know how to react under pressure. And I guarantee you, there will be a lot of danger and pressure to come on this trip." Roseear finished, flicking her tail as she ended her lesson. With that, she turned and brushed past Hazelflight and Shadowwhispers, nodding toward the direction they had been travelling.

"Shall we?"

* * *

"Thank you." Mothpaw murmured. The walk had continued with no further incident so far, but it was the first time the golden apprentice had spoken since they'd continued walking. Applepaw glanced at her, noting she wasn't trembling any more, then looked back forward and shrugged.

"It was nothing. We're clan-mates, we're supposed to look out for each other." he pointed out. Mothpaw nodded.

"I know. But you still saved me, and Roseear was right. I do need to thank you for that. Especially after you told me how to cross safely and I ignored what you said." she replied, voice quiet and embarrassed. Applepaw kept his gaze forward.

"I tried to say you didn't need to feel pressured by me. I just wanted to make sure I was close enough to catch you if you did fall." he admitted. Mothpaw purred at that.

"Thank StarClan you did! When I hit my face, I completely forgot what was going on for a few moments!" she admitted. Applepaw finally looked over at her, concerned.

"How's that feeling?" he asked.

"It felt like it was throbbing a while ago, but it's alright. Shadowwhispers asked if Glimmerwind or Lavenderpaw would look at me, and they said that it might swell a bit, but I seemed fine other than that. No break, thank goodness." she responded, somewhat cheerfully.

"That's great!" Applepaw purred back. He glanced forward, then back toward the younger apprentice. "Maybe you should go talk to Shadowwhispers? He keeps looking back here, seems like he's still worried." he pointed out. Mothpaw looked forward, catching her father staring. Shadowwhispers quickly flashed a smile, though it seemed like an embarrassed one, and faced back forward.

"You're right. Maybe you should talk to Bearpaw and Moonpaw, they're falling pretty far behind." she noted, nodding toward the pair. Applepaw glanced back toward their siblings and made a noise of agreement in his throat, before quickly dropping his pace as Mothpaw bounded forward. He easily fell to Bearpaw and Moonpaw's pace, and looked between them.

"What are you two doing back here?" he asked. Moonpaw glanced toward him, a warm look on her face.

"Talking about how brave you were." she purred. Bearpaw rolled his eyes and gave his brother a teasing grin.

"More like discussing how you're showing off for all the pretty she-cats." he added. Applepaw felt hot under his fur and glanced forward, toward Hazelflight. He didn't want to make eye contact with his brother, Bearpaw didn't deserve the satisfaction of seeing him so embarrassed! He wasn't sure if Bearpaw was aware that he had a crush on Hazelflight, or if he thought that he liked Mothpaw, but either one was embarrassing!

"Don't worry, Applepaw, I don't think you were showing off. I'm glad you saved my sister, I don't know if I would have been able to react so fast!" Moonpaw soothed. Applepaw looked gratefully toward the white she-cat.

"I'm sure you would have. She's your littermate after all, that's a pretty good kick to get moving." he pointed out. Moonpaw thought this over, then nodded enthusiastically.

"I guess you're right! If you moved that fast, I would have been like lightning!" she declared. Bearpaw purred in laughter.

"Should I leave you two here to compare egos?" he asked, glancing between the two. Moonpaw smirked and bumped into him playfully.

"Hey, I managed to knock you off your paws on my first day, don't get smart with me." she teased. Bearpaw shook his head, looking toward Applepaw.

"She's just as bad as you are." he mockingly whined, looking as offended as he could with such bright, amused eyes. Applepaw shook his head and laughed as well.

"Don't worry, we'll team up if she ever gets out of paw." he promised. Moonpaw scoffed.

"I could take both of you if I only had three paws, don't test me!" she huffed. Bearpaw and Applepaw purred in amusement at the younger apprentice's bravado, and settled into a now comfortable silence. Applepaw glanced back forward, noting that Shadowwhispers and Mothpaw were chatting amicably, as were Hazelflight and Roseear. He couldn't quite make out Glimmerwind and Lavenderpaw, who were leading the group, and Darkfire was walking alone. As he glanced upward, he began to make out the jagged cliffs that they would soon be climbing, and felt his heart begin to pound.

"Hey... Do either of you actually know anything about Death Mountain?" he asked softly. Bearpaw shook his head, which Applepaw expected. His brother would have told him if he learned anything about their destination back when the trip was first announced. But Moonpaw's eyes lit up and she nodded.

"Calmwind says that there were once cats up there, but that giant dogs drove them out or ate the ones that stayed. She also says there's a bird up there that's SO big, it can eat cats! Even full grown ones!" she squeaked out. She looked very much like a kit at that moment, but the idea still unnerved Applepaw.

"Aw, I'm sure that's just a kit story. You know, like the ones about LionClan and TigerClan and junk. It's so kits won't try and sneak out of camp or try to go looking for the mountains to show they're brave or whatever. You know how tempting it is to try and sneak out of camp to explore, they gotta scare us to keep us in!" Bearpaw pointed out. Applepaw laughed nervously.

"Yeah, of course! Just a silly story." he agreed half-heartedly. His mind couldn't push out that what if. If there truly were dogs or birds... He would look like easy prey, just like Moonpaw. Moonpaw was tiny, she still looked like she could pass off as a kit, but Applepaw had come to the conclusion that he was going to perpetually be as small as a young apprentice. Bearpaw had grown into a giant, as Cove must have been, but Applepaw and Wolfclaw were both on the smaller side, like their mother Firefoot. However, Applepaw had somehow come up the smallest of the litter, and right now that was something he was painfully aware of. He suddenly felt very sure that any big animal would see him as easy prey, the way he saw a small bird as easy pickings, and the thought was horrifying.

Applepaw knew he was getting lost in thought again, and was almost willing to until he felt a soft pelt brush against his. He glanced over to see Moonpaw staring at him, a worried look on her face. He straightened up quickly, embarrassed to have been caught in his panicked thoughts, but Moonpaw kept a knowing look on her face. She head-butted him lightly and put a kind smile on her face.

"Hey, let's all promise to fight off the bird or the dogs together! If they're real, I mean. I'm sure that if whatever's up there sees three HarmonyClan apprentices standing together, it'll turn and run right off the mountain!" she howled. Bearpaw purred at the she-cat's excited voice and nodded.

"Sure. If it's real, we'll all take it down!" he agreed. Applepaw purred a bit as well, feeling happy at how confident the two sounded. It made him feel a lot better, and he couldn't help the grateful look he sent to Moonpaw before catching himself and turning back forward. He noted Lavenderpaw breaking out from the group and stopping, glancing back toward the group of apprentices and waiting as the other cats walked forward. Once they were close, Lavenderpaw joined back in with the group at Applepaw's other side.

"Alright, so Glimmerwind wants me to explain to you how the rest of this is going to go. We'll settle down to camp at the base of Death Mountain, and sleep there for the night. We'll be able to hunt at some point, and be close enough to the lake to drink if needed. It's important that you all eat tonight, so your bellies are as full as possible before it's time to go. We don't want you dropping from hunger, because we don't have any clue how much there is to catch up there, so if any of you don't catch anything, Glimmerwind, Roseear, Mothpaw, or I will give you our prey.

"In the morning, you will all take travelling herbs. They will suppress your hunger and give you a boost of strength for your journey. Remember that your goal is to find your way up Death Mountain, and down the other side. There is another clan there that is in need of our help. Is that understood?" she asked, glancing at the three cats. Applepaw found himself nodding, though he still wasn't entirely sure about why Mockingstar cared for these cats. It just didn't seem his style, given his attitude toward his own clan-mates. But that wasn't what he was wondering at this point.

"Hey Lavenderpaw... Last night, when we all talked... Did you know who was chosen? I know you couldn't have known about me, but what about the others?" he asked, curious. Lavenderpaw shook her head sadly, fixing her gaze forward.

"When I was speaking with you, I had no idea who was going." she replied earnestly. "But Glimmerwind did tell me about Shadowwhispers after I went back to my den. She said he wanted to learn some things about being a medicine cat so he could help if anyone got injured. Apparently my complaining about them not sending a medicine cat paid off in some way." she added softly. Applepaw nodded, sending a glance toward Shadowwhispers. The tom was huge, with very broad-shoulders. He looked the image of a great warrior, it was difficult to imagine him playing around with herbs like Glimmerwind or Lavenderpaw.

There was another silence, this one very heavy. Applepaw knew they were all thinking about the cliffs now, as the mountains loomed over them. They were very close now, Applepaw could already see the lake far off in the distance. The sun was still in the sky, though it was now beginning to set. He assumed their progress would lessen as they began their climb, since that would be much harder than their current walking. The terrain would be unfamiliar and possibly scary... Applepaw shivered a bit.

"...So what do you think your warrior names will be?" Moonpaw asked, breaking the silence. Applepaw was almost startled, as the silence had begun to get heavy enough that it seemed impossible to break, but he quickly recovered.

"Not really. That's kind of the exciting part about getting your warrior name, is the not knowing." Applepaw decided. Bearpaw purred a little, also seeming grateful for the more normal topic.

"Aw, that's no fun! I want mine to be Bearfang or Bearheart! I like how they sound." he purred. Applepaw rolled his eyes.

"I hope it's Bearbreath." he noted. Bearpaw gave his brother a playfully hurt look.

"I hope yours is Applemouse to always remind you how small you are."

"Hey, I'm not THAT small!" he complained, though that did seem like something Mockingstar would do. Moonpaw laughed and leaned forward to look around Applepaw, at Lavenderpaw.

"What about you? I'd like for my name to be... Moonshadow! Or Moonheart... Moonwind? I think I'd be happy with any warrior name, honestly." she admitted, purring. Lavenderpaw paused for a moment, thinking.

"I've never thought about it, honestly. Softpelt said if she could pick the warrior names of her kits, she would name us Lavenderblaze, Daisyshade, and Bluesage after her littermates. So I guess Lavenderblaze would be nice." she decided. Moonpaw purred.

"That's a cool name! Sounds more like a warrior one though."

"I suppose that's true."

"I just hope none of you get your warrior names that you've picked. I'm not sitting here trying to decide mine."

"That's because you're boring!"

"We're here!" Roseear called back, breaking the apprentices out of their argument. Applepaw cut off what he was about to say and turned back forward, taking a few more steps. The mountains loomed heavily over them now, and the lake was only paces away. Applepaw noted that the lake took up the entire space between the two mountains, and that there was no space in sight where they could potentially cross through the mountains. He hadn't realized that in the back of his mind, he had been hoping for an easy way out of this journey until that hope was dashed. Shadowwhispers seemed to study the area a bit, before turning to the group.

"We'll be starting this trip in the morning, so it's important that we get as much rest as possible. It's time to hunt."


	11. Lavender - Rising Moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lavenderpaw has a dream that is odd.

Lavenderpaw stumbled awkwardly back to the makeshift camp where the journeying cats had decided to settle. She had a huge bird clamped in her jaws, and she herself was startled by the fact that she had managed to catch it. Any warrior duties tended to bore Lavenderpaw, and she had generally been a mediocre hunter on a good day. She loved being surrounded by herbs and learning what they did, and her days seemed to grind to a halt when Glimmerwind gave her the required basics of warrior training that she was expected to know. But it seemed to have paid off in giving her a good meal for the night, so she supposed she didn’t mind it at this point.

Lavenderpaw padded toward the river, deciding that was where she wanted to settle for the moment. She would likely go hang out with Glimmerwind after she returned, but she decided she would worry about that later. As she walked, she noticed that Bearpaw was making his way toward the same area, as if coming to meet her. Once she came to the riverbank, she set down her bird and looked up, watching as Bearpaw also came to a stop at her side.

“Hey, Lavenderpaw, can we talk?” he asked, setting down his mouse. Lavenderpaw’s ears perked at his question, and she stepped toward him with a purr.

“Of course! I told you, never be afraid to speak with your medicine cat!” she reminded him, light purr in her throat. Bearpaw nodded, almost shyly, and sat down at her side.

“That’s a good catch. Big bird, I mean.” Bearpaw murmured, looking more and more bashful. Lavenderpaw’s chest puffed proudly and she nodded her agreement.

“Thanks, I can hardly believe I got it! I’m not Silverheart or Applepaw, you know. Me catching anything is usually because the prey seems to take pity on me.” she joked. Bearpaw purred and nudged her in a friendly manner.

“Aw, that’s okay. You’re fantastic with those herbs and stuff!” he soothed. Lavenderpaw shook her head.

“I know. I always knew I wouldn’t cut it as a warrior, I’m very happy with what I do.” she replied cheerfully. Bearpaw nodded in agreement, seeming to light up at her tone. He was always very happy to see his clan-mates in a good mood.

“So you wanted to talk?” she asked, settling down and starting to pick off some of the feathers. Bearpaw immediately tensed up again, looking a little embarrassed as he nodded. Lavenderpaw was really curious now. Bearpaw really seemed to be serious at the moment, and she wasn’t used to that. He was generally the most easy-going of his siblings, while Applepaw was moody and Wolfclaw could be a hot-head, something that seemed to be cooling ever since her pregnancy.

“Well… I just wanted to say this now. Like, who knows when we’ll be back! I um...” Bearpaw hesitated for a moment, and Lavenderpaw waited patiently for the tom to speak. Bearpaw took a deep breath and finally blurted, “I really like you!”

Lavenderpaw was startled by the admission, and stared curiously at the tom for a few beats, unsure what to think. Finally, she shook her head, trying to push the blankness out of her mind. She swallowed nervously and began to fidget her paws, unsure what to say still. After a moment, she let out a shaky breath.

“We’re just friends, Bearpaw… I’m sorry, I don’t like you as anything more than that.” she replied, trying to keep her voice gentle. “Even if I did feel anything for you, I’m a medicine cat. We’re not allowed to take mates or have kits, you know that.” she added.

Bearpaw nodded slowly, eyes not meeting the black she-cat’s. Lavenderpaw felt bad, seeing that she had clearly hurt the dark brown tabby’s feelings. Maybe it was to be expected; she was rejecting him after all. But Lavenderpaw was not exactly experienced in having to discuss this topic in general. Before Lavenderpaw could apologize again, Bearpaw looked down at his paws and sighed heavily.

“Okay. That’s fine.” he whispered. Lavenderpaw leaned forward, concerned.

“Are you sure? I mean, I don’t want you to be upset, but I can’t lie to you either. That would unfair to both of us.” she pointed out. Bearpaw nodded.

“I mean, it hurts, yeah, but I’m glad you’re honest with me. It’s one of the things I like about you. I’d rather you were happy as a medicine cat than… I dunno, miserable as a warrior? That would be the only way we would be together, I suppose. I’ll be fine.” he explained softly. Lavenderpaw was surprised by how well he was taking this, but was also grateful that he seemed to understand. Still, she did hate to see her clan-mates upset.

“You are a handsome tom, though. Surely you’ll find a she-cat who wants to and is able to be with you!” she decided. Noting that his nod seemed unenthusiastic, she continued. “Daisypaw is all about gossip, you know. And I heard that Stripepaw really likes you. I can’t tell you for sure, of course, but it seems legit.”

Bearpaw glanced up in surprise, as if he hadn’t known that before. Lavenderpaw hoped it made him feel better, though she doubted it did much. After all, hearing he liked her hadn’t made her feel good. In fact, it had done quite the opposite, because she didn’t feel the same way. But who knew, maybe Bearpaw and Stripepaw would be different?

“Applepaw’s back, I should go sit with him.” Bearpaw decided. Lavenderpaw watched as she tom stood, looking very heavy, and jogged off toward his brother, grabbing his mouse as he walked. Lavenderpaw felt a pang through her chest when she saw the hurt look still in his eye. She reminded herself that he had told her he would be fine after a while, but it still made her feel bad to know she had caused her friend to feel that hurt.

After Bearpaw had settled down at Applepaw’s side, Glimmerwind arrived with her own vole. Lavenderpaw hesitated, then decided that she needed to speak with her mentor about the whole situation that had just went down. She started toward her, remembered her bird and retrieved it, and then actually made her way over.

Glimmerwind was settled comfortably with the vole at her side, not yet eating. She was grooming herself, seeming unconcerned with the rodent she had managed to catch. Lavenderpaw remembered that Glimmerwind specifically had volunteered to give up her prey if any of the traveling cats didn’t catch anything, along with Roseear. The two sisters had agreed that their apprentices didn’t need to give up the prey they caught unless literally nobody else caught prey.

“Nice bird.” Glimmerwind noted when Lavenderpaw dropped it in front of her. “I think that bird could last more meals than all the prey you’ve caught previously.” she added, voice light and teasing. Lavenderpaw nodded, trying to give a polite laugh. The joking tone in Glimmerwind’s voice dropped immediately. “What’s wrong?”

“Bearpaw...” Lavenderpaw broke off, hesitating. What if Bearpaw got in trouble for even admitting his feelings? She didn’t think that sounded right, but then again, she didn’t know that for sure. After all, medicine cats couldn’t have mates, what if tempting one was also against the rules?

“What about Bearpaw? Is he sick?” Glimmerwind asked, standing and looking toward the older apprentice. Lavenderpaw shook her head quickly.

“No, it’s not that… He uh… He told me he liked me… Like, more than a friend likes me.” she explained. Glimmerwind looked toward her apprentice, relieved and totally unsurprised for a moment. Then she suddenly looked a bit uncomfortable and sad.

“Oh… Do you… Like him in return?” she asked. Lavenderpaw again shook her head.

“No, we’re just friends. I would never do anything that could compromise my position as a medicine cat’s apprentice, and he says he understands that.” she explained, no hesitation in her voice.

“So you don’t want to switch to warrior training?” Glimmerwind checked.

“Never.”

“I figured that.” Glimmerwind murmured, though the relief in her eyes told a different story. Lavenderpaw was surprised her mentor would think she would even consider becoming a warrior, but supposed she couldn’t blame her. Lavenderpaw was good friends with Bearpaw after all, and that was easily one of the first thoughts at this topic. Glimmerwind seemed to notice what Lavenderpaw was thinking, and sighed softly.

“You know...I wasn’t always a medicine cat.” she murmured. Lavenderpaw’s whole body seemed to spasm at that revelation, and she stared at her mentor in total shock. How could there have been a time where Glimmerwind wasn’t a medicine cat? The she-cat seemed so comfortable and natural as a medicine cat, the idea of her ever being a warrior was absurd! Yet here she was, saying this…

“You were a warrior? Why?” she asked. Glimmerwind glanced off in another direction.

“...When I was an apprentice, I fell in love with a younger apprentice. We were about a moon apart, and we’d been close as kits back in the nursery, but it became more serious once we were both apprentices. We were in love from the time we were apprentices, up until we were both young warriors. I refused to take my warrior name until it was his turn as well.

“Once we were both warriors, everything was great for a while. I avoided the medicine cat den like the plague because… Anytime I saw it, I started to wonder what my life would have been like if I followed that path. After a while though… I guess we just drifted apart. Eventually, we stopped being mates, and I asked Burrnose if I could come back to being a medicine cat. Obviously he agreed and… Well, here we are.”

Lavenderpaw could tell Glimmerwind was leaving a lot out from the way her expression changed after mentioning ‘drifting apart’ and the fake smile she tacked on at the end of her words. But given the topic, that was clearly personal and not something she wanted to share with her young apprentice. So Lavenderpaw just nodded and shifted closer to the she-cat in a comforting way, looking up at her.

“Do you ever regret becoming a medicine cat again?” she asked after a moment. Glimmerwind glanced up at the sky, toward the first stars beginning to glow in the sky.

“No. I don’t. I was never meant to be a warrior, it was ridiculous that I would dare try to fight my fate and my heart.” Glimmerwind finally responded, confidence clear in her voice. Lavenderpaw nodded slowly in agreement, looking to the stars as well.

“What happened to your mate? Was he mad?”

“I don’t think so. Driftwillow was never the angry type. He was really quiet when I told him we couldn’t be together anymore, and he never took another mate after. He just kind of hung around and lived his life, and I avoided him… I feel bad about that part, you know. Avoiding him. He was a good tom, he just fell in love with a cat who wasn’t meant to be with him or anyone.”

“Driftwillow?” Lavenderpaw asked, startled by the fact that she recognized the name. Glimmerwind suddenly tensed.

“...Yes… I forgot you were kin.” she admitted, looking embarrassed.

“That was Nightsoul’s littermate, right?”

“Yes. Nightsoul was always really close to Shadowwhispers, so Driftwillow and I bonded a lot over the moons. They didn’t get close until they were older, after we broke it off. I know your father still is a little wary of me because of it, even after all these seasons… But he knows you’re destined to be a medicine cat so he’s got over it.” Glimmerwind murmured.

Lavenderpaw had never known about her father not liking her mentor, or even anything about Driftwillow. She put that down to her father not talking much about the past, or much at all really. Softpelt was more of a talker, while Nightsoul was more of a listener. In fact, she had probably heard more about Driftwillow from Softpelt than from her father.

Lavenderpaw waited for a moment, as if Glimmerwind was going to continue, but the she-cat was no longer paying attention to her. Clearly, Glimmerwind had spoken enough for the night and was finished with their conversation. So Lavenderpaw settled down and took a bite from her bird, deciding it was best to get her mind off their conversation. The idea of medicine cats becoming warriors and vice versa for love seemed really exhausting and somewhat depressing. The bird was good, but she didn't have much time to savor it before she heard approaching paw-steps.

"You're really bad today, usually you can at least manage to catch something once a day." Darkfire was saying. Lavenderpaw glanced toward the dark tom, who was sitting now with his small white apprentice at his side. Moonpaw's pelt seemed to glow starkly when beside the gray-black tom's, and she seemed extra small with her shame. Darkfire paused in his speech to set down his bird. Lavenderpaw noted that birds seemed to have become the only prey anyone was catching recently, and put it down to the fact that they were really starting to come out with nesting,

"Moonpaw looks like she didn't catch anything. What a shame, things will only be getting harder from here on out." Glimmerwind murmured. Lavenderpaw hesitated, then stood, looking down at her mentor, who was lying comfortably on her side.

"I'm going to share my bird with her. It's big enough to share, and Moonpaw's so small we should both get our fill." Lavenderpaw decided. Glimmerwind purred and sat up.

"That's kind of you to offer, but I could give her mine if you want to eat that yourself." she pointed out. Lavenderpaw shook her head and picked up her bird, gesturing with a slight movement of her paw for the golden she-cat to lay back down. Glimmerwind hesitated, but then gave in. She looked warmly at her apprentice. "I'm glad you're so generous in this situation, I won't keep you."

Lavenderpaw dipped her head a final time before bounding toward the younger apprentice. Moonpaw was staring at her mentor's bird hungrily, but Darkfire looked up to greet the young medicine cat apprentice. Lavenderpaw set her bird down beside Darkfire's, feeling a bit of pride swell in her chest when she saw how much bigger it was.

"Bad hunt?" she asked gently, giving a sympathetic look. "I have those all the time, but I caught a really good one today! I'd be happy to share it." she offered. Moonpaw looked still embarrassed, but fairly grateful.

"That's a really sweet offer, but it's okay. I didn't catch anything so I don't eat, plain and simple." she murmured. Darkfire spoke before Lavenderpaw had a chance to.

"We're going on a big journey, Moonpaw. Lavenderpaw knows she'll probably get a meal tomorrow, we don't. You need to eat, we've all been saying that." he chided. Moonpaw looked reluctantly at Lavenderpaw, who nodded.

"It's a huge bird, even bigger than Darkfire's! So don't worry, we'll both get a good meal out of it!" Lavenderpaw added. Moonpaw still seemed hesitant, but seemed even less willing to disobey several cats telling her to do something. She settled down beside the bird and took a bite, chewing slowly. Darkfire stretched out and glanced at the two smaller she-cat's.

"I'll leave you two to your meal."

* * *

A bird later, Moonpaw was curled up sleepily at Lavenderpaw's side. The young apprentice was already dozing as Lavenderpaw set upon cleaning her paws. Once she had finished, she sent a glance around the little makeshift camp. Bearpaw and Applepaw were already curled up together, asleep. Darkfire slept alone near the path that would be used for the journey tomorrow. Shadowwhispers and Glimmerwind were chatting, with Mothpaw sleeping at her father's side. Hazelflight and Roseear appeared to be the only fully awake pair, chatting amicably about something.

Lavenderpaw sighed and looked back down at the fluffy white she-cat at her side, noting how exhausted she seemed. Her heart broke a little at the thought of the sleepy young apprentice on this journey, knowing it would only get worse from now on. It was awful to think that Mockingstar was sending someone who was practically a kit on this journey. Her stomach churned at the possibility of little Moonpaw dying before ever receiving her warrior name, and she sent a glance toward Hazelflight and Roseear. Her thoughts were of the third member of their trio, the third she-cat who would normally spend her days chatting with them.

Silverheart had stood up and talked back to Mockingstar. There was no way the young warrior hadn't been afraid, and yet she had felt so strongly that she had spoken out anyway. It was surprising how seriously she took her position as a mentor, but Lavenderpaw supposed that she would understand that once she had her own apprentice, many moons in the future. The clan had also been very quick to support her once she stood up, and it seemed it came down to Mockingstar looking like he was about to launch himself at her. If Darkfire had stood up and riled him that much, would they have stood with him as well? Poor Moonpaw was younger than Bluepaw, with just as much experience. It was sad to know that she was going to be out there.

Lavenderpaw closed her eyes, thinking deeply for a few moments. Why hadn't the dark warrior stood up? Why hadn't alarm been raised after the situation with Silverheart and Bluepaw? Was it because Darkfire had already insisted that his apprentice would be alright? That wasn't right, no matter what way she looked at it. Someone should have said something...  _Maybe there's still a chance for someone TO say something._

Lavenderpaw's eyes snapped open, as if startled by her own thoughts. She sent another glance to the white she-cat beside her, who had now gone from dozing to a deep sleep. She glanced toward Shadowwhispers and Glimmerwind, noting they were no longer talking, and seemed to be settling to sleep themselves. She knew Glimmerwind wouldn't say a thing about Moonpaw going, and Shadowwhispers seemed resigned to follow his leader's directions. But Lavenderpaw wondered if maybe she could do something... She had lost a tremendous amount of respect for her leader over the past moon, and she had been insisting that a medicine cat was needed for this journey, a proper one.

Lavenderpaw glanced toward the stars, almost wishing for a sign. Should she speak up and demand that she go instead? She could very easily force the situation. If she refused to give herbs to Moonpaw and ate them herself, they would certainly be unwilling to take the younger apprentice. Glimmerwind would definitely be furious, but she was pretty sure Hazelflight would stand by her for putting Moonpaw's safety first. Maybe it was worth that risk.

Lavenderpaw felt Moonpaw shiver beside her and snuggle closer, clearly not sleeping well.  _She must be afraid of the journey tomorrow. Can't blame her for that._ Lavenderpaw nodded. That settled it, this was worth the risk. She would be going on the journey tomorrow, no matter what Glimmerwind or Mockingstar said. With that in mind, she laid her head down to sleep. She would need it for the trip.

She woke to the loud roar of falling water. Pushing herself up, Lavenderpaw looked around the large cave. She had been here a few times in dreams, but couldn't say she was particularly familiar with the space. She figured it was an old camp of some kind, as it appeared to have some smaller dens tucked into it, but Glimmerwind had decided she would tell her more properly about it after they went to the actual location, when it was time for Lavenderpaw to become a full medicine cat. Now the cave was empty, unlike it had been the few times she had been here, but she supposed that wasn't exactly uncommon. It was somewhat loud in here after all.

The black she-cat slowly stood and padded toward the exit of the cave. She paused when she came to the little path that led out, and then took a very slow step out. Glimmerwind had informed her that the path was the reason only full medicine cats made the trip. It was dangerous, and fairly easy to slip off, so she would one day need to take great care with walking it. Even now, in her dream, Lavenderpaw heeded those words as she carefully made her way along the path. When she made her way around the path, she came to a grassy area that lay beyond the cave walls. She shook out her fur as she came to the wide expanse of solid earth, feeling much better to be away from the edge of falling.

Once she felt comfortable enough on the ground, she glanced up to notice a small group of cats gathered. They seemed to be speaking, though their voices were low enough that Lavenderpaw couldn't even hear murmurs. She hesitated for a moment before slowly making her way toward the group. She wondered if she should announce her presence, assuming that these must be the ones to have called her here, given their proximity to the cave she woke in. She didn't need to say anything, as a ginger tom seemed to catch sight of her. Her murmured something to his companions, and then the three cats stood to follow him off. Lavenderpaw paused when they started off, going from a steady walk to a brisk run as they started down the slope.

Lavenderpaw wasn't sure if she should follow, given she had seemed to be intruding. But after a brief hesitation, she decided to follow the cats anyway. They were her best bet at finding other cats and the reason for her being here, after all. So, she quickly bounded down the hill after them, wrapping around the mountain as she followed the path. She didn't seem to catch up to them, as she never even saw a tail. They had completely disappeared, something she accepted after she came to the river. The land here was open, so she would easily be able to see them if they had came this way, but there wasn't even a silhouette of a single cat, let alone four.

Lavenderpaw sighed as she carefully followed along the river, toward the shallow crossing. She located the area and easily waded through the water, which came up just a bit past her belly. She had always hated the crossing, and usually Glimmerwind would cross it to collect what they needed that grew near the waterfall, but now was not going to be one of those times. Lavenderpaw briefly did wonder if Glimmerwind was also being contacted, and if they could run into each other here, but quickly pushed that from her mind as she shook the water from her pelt. Even if her mentor was here, Lavenderpaw needed to figure out why they would want her here, which meant she needed to focus on finding some starry warriors.

This in mind, Lavenderpaw quickly made her way again toward the river, having crossed on the split that was more shallow. She would need to cross it again to get to the camp-side of the territory, but she would be able to cross the fallen tree this time. As she padded along, she kept an eye out for the ginger tom, deciding that he would be easier to spot than his three gray companions. In all the time it took her to walk to the tree bridge, she didn't see a hint of another creature. And as she crossed the tree and began up the slope toward camp, she began to give up on it entirely.

Lavenderpaw figured that she would find cats once she entered camp. After all, even their ancestors had lived where she now called home, meaning that surely they missed it sometimes. So she didn't worry about the now piercing silence as she continued up the slope, preparing to enter camp. Sure, it was strange to see no cats near the camp entrance, but if there was no danger in StarClan, then why would there be? Not like they needed guards here, in a place with plentiful prey and no wars.

"Lavenderpaw."

The voice stopped the apprentice dead in her tracks. All thoughts of walking into camp exited her mind as her ears perked, searching for the noise that had sounded so much like her name. When she heard it again, a slight chill ran down her spine. The voice was very distant, but clear enough. The eerie part of it was the fact that it was so featureless. It wasn't like a cat calling out to her, it felt more like the wind itself had a voice and was now speaking.

Lavenderpaw shifted uneasily on her paws, wondering if she was supposed to follow it. She sent another glance toward the camp, in time to hear the voice say her name again, from the other direction. After a brief hesitation, Lavenderpaw decided that it would be in her best interest to follow the voice. After all, those cats had clearly walked away once they noticed her. This voice was the only thing that had seemed to acknowledge her in any way since she'd gotten here. She didn't want to disappoint anyone, so she turned and started to follow after the voice.

As she walked, the black she-cat would occasionally pause and prick her ears, making sure that the voice was still calling to her before continuing along the path. It was strange, the voice never seemed to move. It never seemed closer or further than it had been before, despite the fact that she was approaching the general direction it was coming from. It was really beginning to unnerve her at this point, and Lavenderpaw was wondering if she had made a mistake. The black she-cat paused as she came to the Thunderpath, and glanced back and forth out of habit before continuing across it.

Lavenderpaw padded slowly into the trees on the opposite side of the Thunderpath, now in territory she hardly knew. Glimmerwind had brought her over here to show her a few places to collect herbs, but for the most part left her at camp when she did this. The older medicine cat seemed nervous about Lavenderpaw crossing the dangerous path, and Lavenderpaw couldn't really blame her. The monsters were dangerous, and she wouldn't want a younger cat crossing it if she could help it either. Lavenderpaw kept her pace fairly slow, looking around for any cause of the voice, until she came to a pond. She glanced down at the still, peaceful water, and looked around again for what could have caused the voice.

Her attention was suddenly drawn to movement, a flash by her paws. She stumbled back a few steps, watching as a lizard sprinted into the pond. The small creature jumped at the last second, landing on a rose that surprisingly held its weight fairly well. She watched as the lizard pushed its way out into the pond using its tail, the rose carrying it along. Lavenderpaw isn't sure what to make of it, but knows it must mean something. There was no way this could be normal.

"After the moon rises, the rose and the lizard will come together at the pond in their final, destined reunion." a voice declared. It wasn't the voice, so the volume and location nearly startled Lavenderpaw out of her pelt as she whirled around to face whoever had snuck up directly behind her. The speaker was a light gray tabby tom, one who had been with the ginger tom up on the mountain. She recognized him from his height, as he had clearly been taller than any of the cats, and practically dwarfed her like a mouse.

"Hello?" she asked, voice very soft. She wasn't sure who this tom was, but she figured it was in her best interest to be friendly. She had no idea what he was talking about, and wanted to get as much as she could out of him before he left again.

"Greetings, Lavenderpaw. We've been waiting." the tom replied. Lavenderpaw's ears perked when he mentioned that he wasn't alone, but she decided not to ask about that at this moment.

"Is what just happened... Is it a prophecy? What you said?" she asked, feeling a bit nervous. She had never really received a proper prophecy before. A few omens, yes, but never anything that sounded this serious and important!

"It is." the tom responded simply. Lavenderpaw noted with a bit of frustration that the tom spoke very tersely, never seeming to use more words that he needed to.

"Can you tell me anything about what it means?" she asked hopefully, though felt she knew the answer. What would be the point of prophecies if they could just be clearly told what was happening after all? Besides, this tom seemed like he wasn't in any mood to have an in depth conversation with her.

"I cannot." he replied, predictably. Lavenderpaw's tail twitched a bit, feeling on edge.

"Can you at least tell me who you are?"

"Your father's littermate. My name is Driftwillow."

Lavenderpaw's eyes widened in surprise as she studied the light gray tabby. He didn't look like Nightsoul, at least in pelt color. He was very slender like her father, but many cats were. She remembered that Glimmerwind had described falling in love with this tom and tried to recall if she had told her how he looked, but couldn't think of anything. She supposed basing his kinship off his pelt was dumb anyway. Her sisters both looked nothing like her, particularly Daisypaw. Pushing that from her mind, she decided to come back to what he had said earlier.

"You mentioned a 'we' when you greeted me... Do you mean the cats who were with you on the mountain? The ginger tom, and the two she-cats?" she asked curiously.

"Beewhisker and Mistleaf aren't here anymore. They have other things to do." he responded. Lavenderpaw vaguely recognized the name Beewhisker, mostly from conversations with Shadowwhispers when he mentioned how close his mother was with Nightsoul's. Beewhisker was Nightsoul and Driftwillow's mother, which was probably why she had been speaking with the StarClan tom in front of her now. The name Mistleaf was unfamiliar though, and those were only two of three names.

"What about the other cat?" she asked. Driftwillow didn't respond. He didn't need to, as the ginger and white tom had finally stepped out from the trees and begun to make his way toward them.

"You've spoken enough, Driftwillow. We must return to Scarstar and Sparrowear." he called. Driftwillow stood at the ginger tom's call, and turned to start his way toward him. Lavenderpaw stood for a moment, startled that they were now both leaving so soon, but quickly bolted toward them.

"Hey, wait! I still don't know what's going on!" she protested. Driftwillow brushed past the ginger tom, ignoring her, but the other stood watching her. Lavenderpaw paused in front of him, hoping to get a better answer from the brighter-furred cat. He just looked down at her, a slight fondness deep behind his worry.

"You'll know soon enough, Lavenderpaw. The life of a medicine cat is hard." he noted. Lavenderpaw looked up at him, confused.

"Are you? I mean, were you?"

"I was your mentor's mentor."

"YOU'RE Burrnose!?"

"Farewell, little one." Burrnose purred, whipping around and bounding off. Lavenderpaw was startled, having stumbled back to not get her face whipped by his tail, but quickly recovered and started after him.

"Burrnose, Driftwillow, wait!" she begged. As she turned around a corner to avoid a tree, she momentarily lost sight of the two toms, and then they were both just gone. She knew they couldn't have moved off that fast, yet they weren't anywhere anymore. She whirled around, desperately looking for any sight of either of their pelts, but to no avail. Lavenderpaw shook her head as if to clear it, then took off in a spring toward the Thunderpath.

Lavenderpaw wasn't sure what woke her. She just knew she was running one moment, and the next she was sitting up as her eyes snapped open, breathing as heavily as she would if she had just been running. She glanced down to see Moonpaw was still lying at her side, now stirring from the black she-cat's sudden movement. As she stared down at the she-cat's white pelt, she remembered the prophecy in her dream. What could it mean? The moon rising, and the rose meeting the lizard? It was all so weird.

Lavenderpaw began to shake her head, but paused. She noticed a shadow was being cast over the apprentice at her side, who was now looking up at her with sleepy amber eyes. Lavenderpaw followed the shadow and glanced up toward Death Mountain, feeling her pelt prickle. The moon rose every night, but... Maybe the prophecy had a different idea of a moon rising. After all, Moonpaw had been chosen to climb up those cliffs. Lavenderpaw felt her stomach twist as she remembered what she had been thinking about before falling asleep, of taking Moonpaw's place on the trip. Was this StarClan's way of warning her that she shouldn't interfere with this? Had they actually asked Mockingstar to send her?

"Ah, you two are awake! Glimmerwind wants to start giving out the travelling herbs now, and I'm sure that means we'll be heading back shortly." Roseear called. Lavenderpaw turned to the pale golden she-cat, watching her pause beside them. Moonpaw yawned sleepily and stood, shaking out her fur.

"I didn't sleep very good last night, Lavenderpaw kept fidgeting." she complained. Lavenderpaw glanced toward the white she-cat, laughing nervously.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to... Weird dreams, you know?" she half-explained, feeling uncomfortable. Roseear looked at her, green eyes intense.

"Oh? Was it StarClan?" she asked. Lavenderpaw shifted on her paws.

"Maybe... But it wasn't anything too important." she lied, feeling gross even as she did it. Lavenderpaw was one to typically keep herself as honest as possible, but that didn't feel right at the moment. If she said she had StarClan dreams, Roseear might suggest taking the journeying cats back to Mockingstar! And now knowing that Moonpaw needed to be on this journey, she didn't want to ruin anything. Roseear looked her over, and Lavenderpaw could tell the warrior saw right through her.

"You should still talk with Glimmerwind about it." she decided, nodding toward her older sister. Lavenderpaw nodded.

"Of course, after we get back to camp I'll get on it." she agreed. Roseear looked a bit disappointed, but simply nodded and turned to go speak with Hazelflight again. Lavenderpaw glanced toward Moonpaw.

"Come on, let's get you to Glimmerwind!" she ordered gently, pushing the sleepy white she-cat toward the medicine cat. Moonpaw seemed to get the idea about halfway there to start walking properly, and they made their way easily to Glimmerwind, who pushed some herbs toward Moonpaw with a simple command.

"Eat."

Moonpaw yawned and nodded, leaning down and beginning to chew quickly at the herbs, pausing after she finally swallowed them and recoiling.

"Those were disgusting!" she hissed. Lavenderpaw purred and pressed her muzzle to the she-cat's ear.

"You'll be thankful for them later." she pointed out. Moonpaw nodded half-heartedly, glancing toward Shadowwhispers when she was called. She turned to the medicine cats one last time.

"Thank you for the herbs, I guess they will help... See you when we get back." she murmured. Lavenderpaw and Glimmerwind nodded as the white apprentice made her way over to the group, most of whom were calling their final farewells to Roseear and Mothpaw. Glimmerwind sighed.

"I still hope that Mockingstar chose the right cats." she murmured. :Lavenderpaw looked confidently toward Moonpaw as she brought up the rear of the group, which was now making their way up the path on the mountain.

"He chose at least one of them."


	12. Moon - Climbing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Travelling on a hot day, resting in a valley.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, haven't worked on this since June 21, 2018. It is now December... I dropped the ball there.  
> But I have returned, at least for now! Hope to keep up with my Tuesday schedule from now on! Tried to make this chapter extra long to make up for the wait!

Moonpaw followed her mentor slowly up the path. She was at the very back of the group, having been the last of the group to start up the path, which seemed to get narrower as they climbed. It was nearly sunhigh, and the day seemed to be a very hot one. It wasn't Greenleaf yet, but it certainly felt like it. Or at least, how Moonpaw assumed it felt. She hadn't yet seen one, having been born in leaf-fall. She had been told about how hot they could be though, from several cats. It had especially come up over the lack of prey, with older cats hoping that things would improve in the hotter weather.

Moonpaw paused for a moment when she felt Darkfire's tail rest on her shoulder, but continued when she noticed he wasn't stopping. The tom glanced back at her when he felt her pause though, and grunted slightly in annoyance.

"Keep up, Moonpaw. We don't want anyone falling behind or getting lost." he pointed out. Moonpaw looked around for any alternative paths.  _Getting lost where? It's a straight line._ Moonpaw almost pointed this out, but decided against it. She really didn't want to anger her mentor, especially given the narrow ledges and hot sunshine they were currently dealing with. Darkfire seemed to feel the need to reassure himself that Moonpaw was, in fact, safely walking behind him. And Moonpaw couldn't really fault him for that. She supposed it was sweet that he was trying to keep his promise to Calmwind about not letting anything happen to her, and figured he wouldn't want her to embarrass him by bringing it up anyway.

As the group crept higher and higher, Moonpaw felt anxiety building up in her stomach. She could see the lake far beneath them, and her mind started flashing back to Mothpaw falling from the log bridge into the river. The fear she had felt then was so intense, watching as her sister flailed around above the river, where she could ave fallen in and potentially drowned. At least in that situation, Applepaw and Roseear were able to pull her up and save her. If someone fell here? There was a very slim chance any of them would be able to do anything about it, especially if they weren't fortunate enough to catch a ledge or get caught by one of the clan-mates. Moonpaw shivered and stepped closer to Darkfire.

"Darkfire, if we get to a spot where it's wide enough, can we switch spots?" she asked in a very small voice. Darkfire sent a glance back toward her, alarmed for a moment but quickly recovering his stoic attitude.

"Sure, if you want. It'll be easier to keep track of you that way. Is there something wrong?" he asked. Moonpaw quickly shook her head, eyes moving down to her paws in a bit of embarrassment.

"I was just thinking about how Mothpaw fell earlier, and she was saved because she could be caught." she admitted. Darkfire snorted as he faced back forward.

"Mothpaw was caught because Applepaw was tense and watching out for her. If you slip suddenly, there's nothing anyone can do. So you need to be careful yourself and not rely on me to pick up your slack." he replied.

"Darkfire!" Hazelflight hissed from ahead, where Moonpaw couldn't see her. The line they had formed was straight, and Darkfire was too big for Moonpaw to see around him. :Don't say things like that to your apprentice, you're going to scare her!" she scolded. Darkfire grunted, but didn't argue with the young warrior as they continued walking, now in a heavy, oppressive silence. Moonpaw could tell that Darkfire was tense, given how his tail was so rigid on her shoulder, and it honestly wasn't helping to soothe her worries for how everything was going.

"We're pretty high up now... I can only see the lake now." Bearpaw noted loudly. Moonpaw winced a bit, given that was what scared her so much in the first place, but Darkfire seemed to relax a bit when he heard the other apprentice's less aggravated tone.

"The mountains are separated by that lake, so we better get used to it." Shaddowwhispers agreed softly, enough so that Moonpaw could only barely make out what her father was saying. He was at the very front of the group, so he was pretty far ahead of the young white she-cat.

"How much farther do you think we have to walk up? Any sign of this path ending yet? I'd rather not climb the entire mountain before having to go down the other side, we need to descend as soon as possible." Darkfire pointed out.

"None yet. This path seems to go on for as far as I can see." Shadowwhispers responded.

"We'll just have to keep climbing. If we have to go to the mountain's peak, so be it." Hazelflight added.

"I'm aware. I just hope it doesn't come to that. It will cut days off of our trip if we can just scale around the mountain the way we hoped." Darkfire murmured. Hazelflight made a quiet noise of agreement, and the group again fell into silence, albeit a more comfortable one than before. Moonpaw was grateful for that at least, and Darkfire relaxing was enough to ease her worries, even if only a bit.

The sun had finally reached its highest point in the sky when Shadowwhispers finally spoke up again. "Wait, I see an end!"

"Really?" Hazelflight asked, voice sounding somewhat excited and relieved. Moonpaw wanted to crane her neck around Darkfire to see if she could also see the path ending, but caught a glimpse of the lake far below her and decided against it. The group picked up their pace a bit, until a loud hiss of surprise ripped through the air.

"Bearpaw!?" Applepaw called, sounding fearful. Moonpaw felt her heart begin to pound hard in her chest, and did dare to try and see around Darkfire this time.

"I'm okay!" Bearpaw's voice called, and Moonpaw was relieved that it didn't seem to be coming from below them. "The ledge broke a little under one of my paws, but I didn't fall. We should all be careful though, I don't think it's as stable as we thought." he pointed out. Moonpaw shivered in fear, looking at the ground beneath her. Not stable? That was a terrifying thought. Hopefully being the smallest meant that it wouldn't break under her... Not that she wanted it to break under the others, of course.

"We'll slow down." Shadowwhispers added, and they did. The group moved at a much slower pace. As they came to the spot where Bearpaw had tripped, Darkfire hesitated for a moment before carefully stepped forward. He moved ahead a few more steps before glancing back at Moonpaw, watching her cautiously. Moonpaw shivered a bit as she looked at the large indent of the cliff, reminding herself that Bearpaw had very big paws compared to her. While it was still small enough for her to easily step over, it was still nerve-wracking to see the hole this close. She slowly moved her paw as far as she could over the hole, following it slowly and carefully with her hind-paws until she was standing directly behind her mentor again, and glanced at him.

"Good. Let's go." Darkfire murmured, padding ahead. He moved slowly still, but a bit faster than when they were coming up on where Bearpaw had tripped. Moonpaw guessed it was because the rest of the group had covered some distance between the time where Darkfire had stepped over and how slowly Moonpaw had followed.

When the pair finally stepped off the path, Moonpaw felt nearly complete relief to be back on open ground. The cliff was widened and flat, unlike the path they had been walking on from sunrise onward. It was like a clearing in the forest, and the most similar comparison Moonpaw could make was the sandy training area where she had practiced her fighting moves for the past moon of her training. It made her feel oddly safer to be in this area when she thought of it that way, despite it not actually being the familiar training clearing. She moved away from the ledge happily and settled down between Bearpaw and Applepaw, figuring it was best to stay with the other apprentices while their mentors talked out their next plan of action.

"Which way should we go?" Shadowwhispers wondered aloud. Moonpaw sent a glance toward the two choices forward, two different paths. One path continued to go around the ledge, though it was wider and less steep than the path they had just exited. It wasn't too wide, sure, but it was wide enough for the group to walk two-by-two. The other path moved further inward into the mountain, but it was away from the ledge and went steeply up. It was also a lot boxier, and would keep the one-by-one formation that they had been moving along.

"As much as I hate it, I think we need to continue along the ledge. Like I said before, we want to cut this trip as short as possible. Going around the ledges will be quicker than climbing all the way up and then down." Darkfire pointed out.

"I don't think we should take the apprentices around that way. Sure, it may be faster, but it's also dangerous. Bearpaw was lucky, but what about the next slip? The one falling would be dead before they even hit the water, honestly." Hazelflight argued. Shadowwhispers' ear twitched at that, and he sent a wary glance toward the apprentices and then the ledge. Bearpaw stood and stepped toward the group.

"My slip was accidental, because we were moving too fast. As long as we keep going slow and steady, I'm sure we're more aware that it's important to be careful. Who's to say that the inner path is safer? We'd be a lot more boxed in if there is anything dangerous up her, like dogs or something." he pointed out. Hazelflight shook her head.

"Oh, those stories are just for scaring kits. We haven't scented any dogs so far, and if there's nothing else living up here... What would they eat? Rocks? There hasn't really been any sign of prey either, that's why we ate the travelling herbs." Hazelflight pointed out.

"It's still something to think about. What if there are rock slides?" Darkfire cut in. They all hesitated for a moment.

"I think Hazelflight's path is still better. Because if there's a rock slide either way, we're all in danger. At least with the inward path we can try to run and not be scared of slipping off the ledge." Applepaw chimed in. Shadowwhispers made a quiet noise of agreement.

"True. I agree with the inner path... Moonpaw? Would you like to add your input?" Shadowwhispers asked. Moonpaw jumped when she was questioned, having figured all the older cats would decide amongst themselves what to do. After all, Bearpaw and Applepaw were practically warriors at this point, they just hadn't received their names due to Mockingstar deciding to be a jerk. She was still very much a new apprentice.

"Oh, um... I don't know. I think either path will lead us where we want to go... I'd kind of prefer the inner path though. It seems... Less scary." she admitted. Shadowwhispers purred and nodded, looking back to the group.

"Then it's settled. Hazelflight, would you like to lead, or shall I continue?" Shadowwhispers asked, glancing toward the pretty she-cat. Hazelflight brightened a bit for the first time since they had started the journey, looking flattered to be offered a leading position. She dipped her head and started quickly toward the path, flicking her tail at Applepaw for him to follow. Applepaw filed in behind her, and Moonpaw hesitantly started after them, sending a glance toward her disappointed mentor. Darkfire sent a glance toward the path he had preferred one last time before following after Moonpaw, Bearpaw at his tail. Moonpaw noted that her father was now at the rear rather than the lead, but felt unworried by it now that they were going down the less dangerous-looking path.

Maybe everything was going to be okay after all.

* * *

Moonpaw was beginning to feel two things as she noticed that the sun was beginning to set. First, her paws were about to fall off it they continued walking for much longer. She had stepped on a few hard stones, and even a sharp one that had luckily not punctured her paw. While she had been getting used to all the training and activity that had come with becoming an apprentice, she had not been doing that on anything harder than grass or sand. But even then, she hadn't been walking for nearly an entire day with little to no rest, so that wasn't even comparable! The second thing she was noticing was that those travelling herbs were beginning to fade and her belly was now aching in hunger. And guessing from the snappy conversation that happened any time one of them dared to speak, she had no doubts that the rest of the group were felling similarly.

"Hey, Hazelflight-"

"Applepaw, if you're about to ask me if there's an end, you already know the answer."

"Geez, sorry for wanting an update." Applepaw mumbled crabbily. Moonpaw couldn't make out what Hazelflight grumbled under her breath, and decided that she probably didn't want to know what choice harsh words the golden-brown tabby had for her complaining apprentice. She dared a glance back at Darkfire, who looked stoic as ever, then turned her attention backward in time to bump into Applepaw.

"What is it, Hazelflight?" Applepaw asked, ignoring the inattentive apprentice behind him as he stared to his mentor. Moonpaw perked up with curiosity, and tried to peer around the ginger tom. She could make out the back of Hazelflight's head, and noted that it was glancing back and forth between two things. She tried to get a better look, but the golden-brown she-cat suddenly padded forward, and Applepaw was quick to follow her. Moonpaw followed after them, pausing when she realized what Hazelflight had been looking at. Two paths. She glanced down one, which led back out in the direction of the cliffs, then turned her attention to the one where Hazelflight and Applepaw were currently heading down before quickly following them.

The path that Hazelflight had chosen ended abruptly, widening out and ending at a steep drop. Below them was a narrow valley with a river running through it. There were several trees and the area was fairly grassy, potentially full of prey if they could get down there! Moonpaw noted that there were several ledges that could act as paw-holds if necessary, as well as a tree that wasn't too far from where they currently stood. Moonpaw wasn't sure which one she trusted more honestly, as the tree seemed old with potentially week branches, and the ledges were of course very small and widely spaced.

"Oh wow." Shadowwhispers murmured, drawing his daughter's attention away from her pondering on how to get down. The large tom was standing at her side, eyes scanning the valley appreciatively. "Is this a perfect sign that we need to rest or what?" he asked playfully, glancing down at Moonpaw, who nodded eagerly. Rest sounded great right about now. Moonpaw would kill for a juicy mouse before curling up and sleeping until sun-high at this point.

"There might be prey down there." Applepaw noted, eyes bright at the thought of a good hunt. Moonpaw purred in agreement, noting that Applepaw was the best hunter on the trip, and that they would surely eat well tonight if he was sent off to get something.

"If we're careful, we can make our way down by the tree. I'm a pretty decent climber, I could probably figure out which branches will support our weight the best if we go one by one." Hazelflight noted. Shadowwhispers nodded in agreement.

"You've done a good job with leading the way so far, why don't you continue?" he teased. Hazelflight purred at him, a first for the trip, and made her way toward the tree.

"I know you're just flattering me to get back on my good side... And it might be working. I enjoy a good compliment." Hazelflight laughed. The she-cat paused as she came to the tree, she paused and studied it for a long moment before leaping toward a branch she had chosen. Moonpaw felt like her heart stopped as she waited for the she-cat to go crashing down, but was able to relax when she saw Hazelflight land safely on a branch that was sturdier than it appeared to Moonpaw. She supposed that was why Hazelflight was leading, and not her, as she had never really needed to climb any trees that weren't the Towering Tree in camp.

Shadowwhispers gently nudged his daughter forward. "I want you to follow after Hazelflight so you can watch what she's doing. Applepaw, would you follow after her as you did with Mothpaw? It would be best to get the smallest cats down first in case the branches can't handle our weight." he noted, nodding toward Bearpaw and Darkfire. All three were rather large, well-muscled toms, so Moonpaw supposed they were a bit heavier than her, Hazelflight, or Applepaw. She nodded in agreement, glancing toward Applepaw. The ginger tabby looked a bit offended at being called small, even in a non-teasing tone, but looked to Moonpaw to go first.

Moonpaw padded over to the tree and watched as Hazelflight leapt to her next chosen one. Moonpaw took a deep, fearful breath and held it as she soared through the air toward the highest branch. She landed awkwardly, back leg slipping a bit before she managed to steady herself. She didn't let the breath out until she was sure that the branch wasn't going to break, and that she wasn't going to fall. She glanced toward Hazelflight, who was watching her with alert eyes. The golden-brown she-cat let out a purr, and nodded in approval before turning back to her task of choosing branches and hopped to the next one.

Moonpaw was a bit steadier with this one, as the jump wasn't as far. She hopped to the next branch easily, and glanced back toward the previous to wait for Applepaw. The ginger tom seemed much more graceful when he landed on the selected branch, and looked to Moonpaw to continue much faster than she had expected. Moonpaw reminded herself that as Hazelflight's apprentice, Applepaw likely knew how to climb about as well as her, or had at least been taught something. That in mind, the white she-cat turned her attention back to following the pretty she-cat.

The rest of the climb continued without a hitch. Moonpaw was uncomfortable until she was back on the ground, but was pretty proud of herself for not slipping or messing up any of the climb. The four toms following her all did very well too, except for Bearpaw. Luckily, he was on one of the lower branches before he fell, but the thud still sounded pretty painful to Moonpaw.

"Again? This is the second time you've fallen today, Bearpaw." Applepaw called. Bearpaw huffed as he sat up, shaking out his fur.

"Thanks for the concern. I've told you a million times I'm the least graceful cat in the clan."

"That might be an understatement."

"Hey!"

"That's enough, you two." Shadowwhispers cut in. He padded over to Bearpaw and looked him over. "You are alright, though? Do you feel sore anywhere?" he asked, looking very concerned. Bearpaw nodded, standing and spinning around in a circle.

"I don't think I'm hurt. It wasn't that far of a fall." he replied easily. Shadowwhispers nodded.

"Good. Applepaw's right though, you have fallen twice. You need to be more careful. We're very far from camp, if you get injured, it could mean your death. We don't have a medicine cat, and we couldn't really carry you back from here." he pointed out. He sent a glance toward Applepaw and Moonpaw. "The same goes for both of you. All of us, really. We need to be as careful as possible." he reminded them. After a heavy moment of silence, Shadowwhispers relaxed and let out a purr. "But for now, I think we'll be alright. So let's get camp set up for the night!"

"Yeah, camp's about all this place will be good for. This is a dead end. We can't really continue forward, this place is a dead end." Darkfire complained, surveying their current surroundings. Hazelflight shook her head.

"Don't be so negative, Darkfire. We should search this end of the valley before we just wave it off as worthless. I'm sure we're all hungry, right? I'll take Applepaw hunting and we'll keep an eye out for a path or something, how does that sound?" she suggested. Darkfire grunted in annoyance, padding over to the river to get a drink, but Shadowwhispers nodded his approval.

"That's a good idea. Darkfire and I will discuss a bit who should go down the other way, and who will set up camp." he replied. Hazelflight dipped her head, then flicked her tail toward her apprentice.

"Come on, Applepaw, let's try and look for prey. You smell anything?" she asked. Applepaw bounded over to his mentor, and they started off down the river.

"Yeah, I think there are birds around here..." he began. Moonpaw didn't hear the rest as the pair continued off, and Bearpaw nudged her shoulder.

"Hey, since everyone else is busy, let's look around! I think I see a cave." he purred. Moonpaw glanced at Bearpaw curiously, then off behind them. Sure enough, there did appear to be an opening in the steep valley wall they had just climbed down from. Bearpaw was practically vibrating with excitement as he stood at her side, nodding toward the cave again. "Come on! We can see if it's a good place to set up camp." he added. Moonpaw continued to hesitate, sending a glance toward Darkfire and Shadowwhispers.

"I dunno… Darkfire seemed like he wanted me to stay close to him, you know?" she pointed out.

"Yeah, while we were on the path. But we're not in a dangerous place anymore, this is camp for the night! In fact, we'll be useful if we figure out a place to sleep. It is still new-leaf after all, so it could rain later." Bearpaw argued. Moonpaw glanced toward the sky, noting that it didn't really look like it was going to rain, but looked back to Bearpaw anyway.

"Well... I guess finding a den for the night won't hurt... They are busy, after all." she agreed hesitantly. Bearpaw brightened at this and nodded toward the cave, padding quickly toward it. Moonpaw sent a final glance back at their mentors before she followed after the elder apprentice, assuming he knew what he was doing. He was practically a warrior after all, and they weren't hurting anyone!

Stepping into the cave, Moonpaw felt a shiver go down her spine. It was very dark, for one thing, and also very narrow. It was about as wide as the paths they had been walking all day, just enough for a one-by-one trail of cats to walk through. She thought she could hear water dripping somewhere fall off, though she couldn't be completely sure. All she knew was that she wanted to stay as close as possible to Bearpaw, as the whole place smelled a little off and made her nervous.

"Maybe this wasn't the best idea." she murmured.

"Well... We're not at the end yet, so we don't know. I think I can see something up ahead!" he exclaimed. That just made Moonpaw's stomach tie itself in a knot, and she lightly nipped at the tom's tail to get his attention.

"Bearpaw, Shadowwhispers just got done telling us to be careful, we shouldn't be bursting through caves by ourselves." she pointed out. Bearpaw huffed.

"Aw, Moonpaw, it's fine. Where's your sense of adventure?"

"Back at home where we should all be."

"Applepaw's sarcasm is starting to really rub off on you."

"I barely talk to him."

"Maybe it's a small thing then."

"Maybe. It's kind of easy to be brave when you're a giant, but some of us are hardly bigger than a rabbit."

"You're a lot better with the small jokes than he is, I'll give you that. But look, it's nothing! See? Just a big cavern!" Bearpaw purred, stepping to the side. Moonpaw looked around. There was faint light coming in from behind her, just enough that she could make out a decently sized little cavern. It wasn't huge by any means, but it seemed to be about the size of the apprentice den. She figured their group could fit fairly comfortably in the den, it even had an old-looking nest in-

"Oh no." Moonpaw murmured, swallowing nervously.

"What?" Bearpaw asked, following her gaze to the nest. "Oh... Huh." he murmured, padding quickly over to the nest. Moonpaw lingered near the entrance of the little cavern, debating on whether she wanted to stay here with the tom or run back out to her mentor and father. She watched as Bearpaw sniffed over the nest curiously, her heart pounding in her chest as she waited for something to... Well, she wasn't sure what she was expecting. But she was expecting something to happen that wasn't good!

"Do you smell anything?" she managed, voice practically a whisper. Bearpaw glanced toward her.

"Not really... Like, there's a really stale odor... But I can't quite place where I've smelled it before. You wanna give it a try?" he offered. Moonpaw shook her head hard, taking a step backward into the wall.

"We should get out of here. We need to tell everyone about this." she decided, turning and slipping back through the tight tunnel. Bearpaw padded quickly after her.

"Why? I told you it was stale! We're just going to get everyone riled up for nothing."

"I would rather them check it out and it's nothing, then to not tell them and something happens." Moonpaw replied firmly. Bearpaw sighed.

"I guess you're right... I just don't like freaking others out."

"Then why would you suggest sneaking off in the first place?"

"I... Huh. I guess that would be a little worrying." Bearpaw agreed, sounding oddly startled by the idea. Maybe he wasn't as sure of what he was doing as Moonpaw had first thought. No wonder Applepaw always seemed to be scolding him for something or another, Bearpaw was totally clueless!

As Moonpaw squeezed out of the cave, she noted that Darkfire and Shadowwhispers were standing, looking about finished with their conversation. She quickly started toward them, hearing Bearpaw on her heels. "Hey, Dark-" she began.

"SHADOWWHISPERS! DARKFIRE! WE FOUND SOMETHING!" Hazelflight's voice called out. Moonpaw turned her attention toward the sound, and saw Hazelflight rushing over with Applepaw trailing behind her. Shadowwhispers stood curiously, tail slashing over the grass.

"What is it?" he asked, sounding concerned despite the clear excitement in Hazelflight's green eyes.

"Applepaw found a path out of the valley, and it's heading in the direction we've been travelling! It seems kinda forested too, so there's probably lots of prey for us to catch! We should have a safe, well-fed trip if everything goes as planned!" she chirped happily. Applepaw stood at Hazelflight's side, three birds hanging out of his mouth by their wings. They clearly looked much too big for him, dragging along on the ground, and he took the opportunity to drop them now that he had caught up to his mentor.

"We also caught prey! We could have gotten more if we kept at it, but Hazelflight thought that the path was important to report back on." he added. Shadowwhispers looked happily toward Darkfire.

"See? It's just like I said, everything's coming together and working out!" he purred. Darkfire grunted, eyes fixed on the plump birds at Applepaw's feet.

"The prey here seems to be a lot better than back home." he noted. Applepaw nodded in agreement, eyes bright with fiery excitement.

"Yeah! I don't think I've seen a robin so fat in my life!" he laughed. Hazelflight grinned.

"Hopefully if things are like this on Death Mountain, it will continue over to our territory as the weather warms." she laughed. Shadowwhispers nodded in agreement.

"We should all eat! Bearpaw and I will check the other end of the territory and catch more if anyone's still hungry once we've all gotten at least something in our bellies."

* * *

The group ate in fairly good cheer. In the back of her mind, Moonpaw felt like she should be telling the others about the unsettling evidence of them not being the first group to set up a camp here, but after pushing it off until after they had their meal... She kept finding it easy to push it off until after other things, like Bearpaw and Shadowwhispers going to the other side of the visible valley and finding nothing. Then it was after Darkfire took her off to practice a little hunting in the prey-rich area near the path they would be taking next sunrise. Then she didn't want to bring down the mood of everyone chatting fairly happily... Even though she still knew she needed to say something, she was beginning to convince herself there was no need to alarm anyone, as Bearpaw had said.

"Hey, you alright? You've been staring at the water since you got back." Bearpaw joked, nudging her side. Moonpaw glanced at him, startled. She hadn't seen or heard his approach, even though she now noticed that his reflection was indeed by her own. She sighed and looked back down at the river.

"I dunno. I feel like I should have said something about the... you know... But now I'm not sure." she admitted. Bearpaw settled at her side.

"Hey, it's alright. We haven't seen anything other than that nest, right? And that's old! There's no danger nearby, so there's nothing to worry about! We'll be leaving early tomorrow morning anyway." he pointed out.

"Yeah... I guess you're right. I'm just being overly cautious about the journey, I guess." she murmured. Bearpaw purred.

"No way, you're fine. You just want what's best for your clan-mates, that's a good thing." he argued. Moonpaw let herself purr and smirked at him.

"So you don't want what's best? I always thought you were such a nice warrior." she teased. Bearpaw laughed and bumped her shoulder.

"No way, I've always been the undercover bad guy here. Applepaw's been a red herring all along." he joked. Moonpaw giggled.

"Oh, I'm sure."

"Am I interrupting something?" Applepaw asked. Moonpaw and Bearpaw both turned to the ginger tom, who was looking between them. Moonpaw turned to him, purring.

"Nah, we were just discussing which of your litter was the evil one." she joked. Applepaw rolled his eyes.

"Oh, ha-ha. Why does everyone act like it's against the rules to not be constantly happy and friendly?" he muttered. "Anyway, Hazelflight and them are talking about sleeping out in the open because of how warm today's been, and the lack of rain clouds. But they're warriors and used to sleeping outside a den, so they told us we could choose where we wanted to sleep. Darkfire said that you two checked out that cave, and I was wondering what you wanted to do."

"Oh, definitely sleep outside! Dens are over-rated, and it kinda smells weird in there anyway." Bearpaw replied. Applepaw cocked his head.

"Weird how?" he asked. Bearpaw suddenly looked uncomfortable, as if he realized too late that he had said too much.

"Oh, well, uh..."

"There's a really old nest in there, and it still has a very old, stale scent. At least, Bearpaw said it did. And I believe him, because the cave didn't really have a clear smell, just like... Staleness." Moonpaw explained. The fur on Applepaw's back stood on end and he looked alarmed.

"Did you tell Darkfire and Shadowwhispers?" he asked. Moonpaw's ears flattened and she looked down guiltily.

"Well..."

"I told her not to. It's not a big deal, Apple-"

"NOT A BIG DEAL!?" the ginger tom hissed. Bearpaw stiffened at Moonpaw's side and fell silent. Moonpaw heard pawsteps approaching.

"What's going on over here?" Hazelflight asked curiously.

"Bearpaw said it wasn't a big deal that there's apparently a nest and weird smell in the cave we're camping by." Applepaw reported, sounding frustrated and generally disappointed. Even though she knew that disappointment wasn't aimed at her, it still stung a little knowing she was partially at fault.

"Weird HOW?" Darkfire questioned. Bearpaw shrugged.

"Just... I dunno. Unfamiliar?" Bearpaw murmured sheepishly.

"You go check it out." Shadowwhispers ordered. Moonpaw glanced toward her mentor, who was now bounding off toward the cave. Shadowwhispers made his way toward them, stopping at Hazelflight's side. "Why didn't you say something sooner?" he demanded. Bearpaw kicked at the ground.

"Well... I thought it wasn't a big deal. The scents are stale, I was sure you and Darkfire would feel the same way!" he insisted. Shadowwhispers' face was stern.

"You don't get to make those decisions. Even warriors need to report if they find odd scents in the area, you know that. I don't care how old or insignificant they may appear to you. I expect much better from you, Bearpaw. You are nearly a warrior yourself, you need to set an example for younger apprentices like Moonpaw." he scolded. Moonpaw felt guilt clawing at her stomach, watching as her father expressed such disappointment in his apprentice for the bad example... She had known already that it was wrong, but listened to him anyway, but that didn't mean she liked seeing him in so much trouble!

Darkfire finally returned from the cave, his fur standing on end. Moonpaw felt her gut wrench at the sight of her clearly distressed mentor. Hazelflight turned her attention to the dark tom, and seemed just as alarmed. "What's wrong?"

"I think we should leave. Bearpaw's right, it is very stale, but it still smells like dog in there... They might come back." he pointed out. Hazelflight looked startled, and quickly turned her gaze to Shadowwhispers.

"Do you think he's right? I mean... It is new-leaf and this is a very prey-heavy area... The dogs may have left for leaf-bare or something." she pointed out warily. The group stood awkwardly, as the deputy seemed to weigh his options.

"Well... It's kind of late. I'm not sure how likely it is for the dogs to come back... Especially if the scent is that stale. But I would prefer to err on the side of caution. It's dark, so I don't know how much further we should travel tonight, but we could-" Shadowwhispers was cut off by a low howl. Moonpaw shivered as her heart felt like it stopped. She had never seen a dog before, but she was not looking forward to it. Still, she forced herself to look toward the sound and caught a glimpse of four large dogs making their way over. Shadowwhispers cursed loudly.

"Those aren't dogs, they're wolves!" he hissed, stepping in front of the apprentices protectively.

"Wolves?" Hazelflight asked, voiced heightened from her fright.

"Bigger, angrier dogs. Hazelflight, get the apprentices out of here." Shadowhispers answered, tail slashing and pelt raising. Bearpaw stepped forward.

"No, I wanna stay and fight with you!" he hissed. Shadowwhispers turned his attention to the younger tom.

"Now is not the time to argue! Get going!" he snapped. Moonpaw felt Applepaw nudging her roughly, and began to run along the river. Hazelflight was hanging back with the other three, seeming conflicted.

"Shadowwhispers..."

"Everyone, get to the path!" Darkfire snarled, turning and bolting toward the tree where they had climbed down from. Hazelflight watched Darkfire springing up the tree and shook her head.

"Come back down here and help Shadowwhispers... Agh, coward!" she hissed, turning her attention back to the retreating apprentices and bounding after them. Moonpaw's attention remained focused on her mentor, scrabbling quickly up the tree and launching himself toward the cliffs. He nearly missed, and clawed harshly at the ground, barely managing to pull himself up. He panted heavily, turning his attention back to Shadowwhispers and Bearpaw.

"Run to the path, Shadowwhispers! Now!" Darkfire hissed. Hazelflight nudged Moonpaw roughly from behind, and the white she-cat turned her huge eyes back toward her.

"Wha-"

"Don't focus on that coward, get your own tail to safety! He's not worrying about you right now, so give him the same treatment!" Hazelflight snapped. Moonpaw felt her heart clench at that, not wanting to believe those words, but she did turn her attention back forward. They were now fast-approaching the path out of the valley, and Moonpaw wondered what the plan was after that. As she started up the slope, she heard Hazelflight skid to a halt behind her, and dared to glance back.

Shadowwhispers and Bearpaw were now making their way quickly toward them, Shadowwhisper's eyes focused upward toward the cliffs. Moonpaw followed his gaze to Darkfire, who stood of the cliffs above them, breathing hard as he also watched the two toms. The wolves were closing in fast, having already passed where the cats had been trying to set up camp. Moonpaw watched with bated breath as her father nudged Bearpaw along, having clearly decided to take up the tail of the pair in case anything went wrong.

"NOW!" Shadowwhispers called as Bearpaw made it to the path. Moonpaw turned her attention back upwards as she heard Darkfire roughly clawing and showing at huge stones above them. As Shadowwhispers also ran up the path and shoved Hazelflight forward, Moonpaw suddenly realized what was happening. She turned her attention back to the wolves as she watched small stones and chunks of earth begin to fall at the foot of the path, and noted they were still getting closer and closer.

"Darkfire, hurry!" Bearpaw hissed. Darkfire let out a final grunt of effort, before he fell, along with the huge stones and the general cliff itself. The dark tom let out a yowl of startled terror, and tried his best to jump away from the falling debris. He hit the side of the valley wall with a hard thump, and his side scraped down as he fell about halfway, before managing to catch himself on a ledge barely larger than his paw. He was panting harshly at this point, watching as the cliff less than a fox-length from him caved and fell along the foot of the path, closing the cats off from the valley and the wolves.

"We made it..." Shadowwhispers gasped out, finally dropping his tense shoulders and seeming to catch his breath. He turned to the group that was on the ground, nodding up the path. "They'll probably stay over there and look for easier prey, but we can't be sure. Let's continue on our way." he ordered, before looking up at Darkfire, who was climbing down slowly. "Are you alright?" he questioned.

"I'm fine." Darkfire murmured, though he winced when he leaped down and rose one of his hind legs. Shadowwhispers quickly rushed over, sniffing at him.

"You're bleeding." he noted. Darkfire shrugged.

"It's just a little scrape... It'll stop soon, I'll be fine." he mumbled, looking uncomfortable with the attention. Shadowwhispers looked at Darkfire with concerned eyes, then turned his attention to Bearpaw.

"We need some cobwebs, can you look for some while we walk? You were always good friends with Lavenderpaw, you've helped her find some before, right?" he asked. Bearpaw nodded quickly and bounded ahead of the group, searching for the needed item. Shadowwhispers and Hazelflight were both standing by Darkfire at this point, both seeming to offer their shoulders to help him walk. Moonpaw noted that he seemed EXTREMELY uncomfortable with the offers of help, and figured that he just wasn't used to it. After all, he spent so much time alone and avoiding other cats, he likely wasn't used to anyone fussing over him. She wondered if he had siblings, or if his mother had been super affectionate like hers... She couldn't fathom being that uncomfortable over getting help for an injury.

"That was really quick thinking, good job on that. I didn't even notice the stones and instability of that cliff." Shadowwhispers purred. Darkfire shrugged, brushing carefully past the tom as he started limping up the path.

"I was looking around for escape routes since we got down here... I don't like being boxed in." he admitted. Hazelflight walked at the tom's side, not letting him move ahead and seeming not to notice that he was still uncomfortable.

"Hey... I'm sorry I called you a coward. I thought you were just bailing on the apprentices, but... I should have figured you had a plan." she apologized. Darkfire shrugged, not making eye contact as he continued past Moonpaw and up the path.

"Don't worry about it." he muttered. Moonpaw quickly followed her mentor, taking her place at his side so that the others couldn't continue to offer for him to lean on them. She thought it was odd that nobody seemed to be picking up on Darkfire's clear attempts to escape conversation, but figured it might just be because they weren't very familiar with them like she had become in the near moon she had been his apprentice and stuck with him. He seemed to notice and appreciate her attempt from the way he slightly relaxed, but said nothing.

But Moonpaw was used to that. Darkfire was not big on talking, unless it was to correct her, or a very rare compliment when she was doing something exceptionally well. She had at first been hurt by it, but was now beginning to get used to it and oddly appreciate it. Darkfire's disinterest in conversation seemed to be replaced by him being quick to observe their surroundings, which had just saved all of their tails. While he may have been boring back home, he was clearly an asset in dangerous situations like the ones they had to deal with now.

The group fell in behind them, everyone seeming fairly comfortable with Darkfire leading despite the slow pace. To the tom's credit, he was trying to move as quickly as possible, and didn't complain. Moonpaw was sure that if she was bleeding, even that lightly, she would be freaking out. But Darkfire was apparently a tough tom, and despised the idea of pity or others nursing him, so maybe it wasn't too strange. At one point, they ran into Bearpaw, who seemed eager to speak to them even without cobwebs.

"I found a new place to make camp. It doesn't have any smells of any creature, prey or otherwise, but there's plenty of moss. I think I saw some cobwebs up in one of the trees too." he reported. Shadowwhispers purred.

"Good. Darkfire should probably rest that leg until it stops bleeding at least." he noted. Darkfire shifted uncomfortably at Moonpaw's side again, but said nothing as he followed Bearpaw back to the supposed camp area that he had found. He paused when they came to the end of the path, at another open area. This one was very small, but was flat with a pond and a couple trees. Bearpaw was right about the trees being very mossy, and hoped there would be enough for them to make a proper nest for all of them.

"I'm going over the area again with Applepaw to make sure it's safe. Bearpaw, show Hazelflight the tree you said had good cobwebs. Moonpaw, you make a nest for Darkfire. And Darkfire, you need to rest." Shadowwhispers ordered quickly, nodding off in a direction for Applepaw to follow him. Hazelflight watched Shadowwhispers pad off with her apprentice before turning her attention to Bearpaw.

"Lead the way." she murmured, and the dark brown tabby led her off to the furthest tree. Moonpaw turned her attention back to Darkfire awkwardly.

"Do you want to help me? I know Shadowwhispers said you should rest, but you seem a little... Awkward, being left out." she noted. Darkfire nodded quietly.

"Yeah, I'd be happy to help. It's a scrape, not a break. I know the different." he muttered. Moonpaw led the way over to one of the trees and quickly began to claw down some moss. She noted Darkfire tried to do the same, but winced when he tried balancing on his hind-legs.

"I can collect and you can build." Moonpaw offered. Darkfire nodded, and the pair quickly set about to their work, the task being a familiar one for both from their apprenticeship. Moonpaw was often tasked with nest-making back home, being the youngest apprentice in the den with Mothpaw and Bluepaw, and she bet Darkfire had been in a similar situation many, many moons ago.

"It's weird doing this without Bluepaw or Mothpaw... We always have to do it together when it's time to clean the nests." she noted aloud, hoping to spark at least SOME conversation with her mentor, even a non-interesting one.

"All apprentices have to take their turn eventually. I remember always getting paired with Calmwind and Reedtail. I didn't think it was fair back then, because they were about... Three quarter-moons younger than me, and I had been forced to take care of it practically by myself for some time." Darkfire replied. Moonpaw looked curiously toward the large tom, who seemed to be absent-mindedly working on the nest.

"You were apprenticed with Calmwind?" she asked.

"Yeah. Doeeye and Brindlestep were as good of friends as their mates were, so they liked training their apprentices together, and sometimes Scarstar tagged along because... Well, he was mates with Brindlestep. So the three of us usually trained together, just like how Turtleshell got tacked on to Applepaw and Bearpaw's litter because of his mentor being the mother of Hazelflight and Smokerise. It just happens when you come from a one-kit litter." he murmured.

"You were an only kit?"

"My brother and sister died before we even opened our eyes, so essentially I was. Firelight was always wrapped up with all the other litters though, so it wasn't too big of a deal." Darkfire noted, his tone one of irritation and finality. Moonpaw took the hint and didn't push the conversation further. They had pretty much finished their work at this point, and Moonpaw turned her attention to the sounds of Hazelflight and Bearpaw approaching.

"I can finish this up from here, if you like." Hazelflight offered, stepping toward the tree and stretching up to run her claws down it. Moonpaw waited hesitantly at the tawny she-cat's side, until she heard Darkfire dismiss her.

"Go on and get a drink. I'm sure you're tired." he ordered. Moonpaw nodded awkwardly, padding over to the little pond and drinking quietly, straining her ears to hear what Darkfire was saying to Bearpaw. "You can leave those here, Shadowwhispers will be back shortly. You apprentices all need a rest really, it's been a very long day." he murmured.

Moonpaw could agree with that at least. The day felt like it had been going on forever, especially when she saw the moon already raising high in the sky. She wanted nothing more than to curl up and sleep, and hopefully wake up back home in the apprentice den. Of course, she knew that last part was not a possibility, but she could always hope! She heard approaching paw-steps, and felt Bearpaw's pelt brush hers as he also leaned down to get a drink from the pond.

"I wish we could just go home and forget this whole thing... Those wolves were really scary." she whispered. Bearpaw sent a sympathetic glance toward her.

"Yeah. But Darkfire was amazing, huh? It must be cool to have a mentor who thinks so quick."

"I guess."

"Hey, it's alright. Nobody got... Nobody died, and Darkfire says his wound is minor. There's no use in moping around now. Hazelflight said that if we were back at camp we would be punished, but that for now... We're not really in a position for that. So basically, we better have learned our lesson, or else someone will probably die next time. That was what she seemed to be hinting at anyway." Bearpaw explained. Moonpaw shivered at the thought.

"Great StarClan, I hope not. I don't know what we would do if anyone died." she whispered. Bearpaw looked off toward the moon.

"I'm not going to die. I promised Firefoot I would come home."

"That doesn't seem fair, to make a promise you aren't sure you can keep."

"Don't be a pessimist, it's one of the only traits about Applepaw I can't stand. It's best to be hopeful and look toward the future, if you think of it like, 'oh, I'll probably die', then you probably will. You're basically defeating yourself without even trying to win." Bearpaw argued. Moonpaw mulled that over in her head for a moment, before nodding.

"I guess you're right. It's just really... I dunno. I guess I just wanna go home and feel like we're never going to get there." she admitted. Bearpaw nudged her lightly.

"Hey, we will get home. Don't worry. All six of us will get the job done, then head back easily. Once we settle the issue, we'll probably be able to cross Star Mountains instead, and that's much safer!" he pointed out. Moonpaw glanced off in the direction she thought those were in, debating it in her mind.

"Yeah, maybe. I hope so, at least." she agreed. The pair sat in silence for a long moment before Bearpaw shuffled his paws and seemed to hesitantly speak again.

"Hey... Before we left, Lavenderpaw told me that... Well, she told me that Stripepaw really liked me. You're good friends with her, right? Do you know if it's true, or was Lavenderpaw just pulling my leg?" he asked, strangely shy. Moonpaw purred and shook her head, cuffing his ear playfully.

"You furball, of course she does! I can't believe you haven't noticed! We aren't even that close, and I know it!" she laughed. Bearpaw looked down at his paws bashfully.

"Well, I just thought... I dunno. I guess I just never thought of her like that before." he admitted. Moonpaw purred and shook her head.

"You're a handsome tom, but you're also probably the most clueless one I've met." she teased.

"Ugh, I'm interrupting again, aren't I?" Applepaw asked. Moonpaw and Bearpaw turned toward the ginger tom when they heard him approaching. "By the way, we are safe for now. Not that either of you seem to care." he noted. Bearpaw huffed.

"Aw, we were just having a chat. We finished our work." he pointed out. Applepaw paused by Moonpaw, clearly giving a cold shoulder to his brother.

"After that blunder back at the last camp, you should be taking extra steps to prove you aren't going to mess everything up." he growled. Moonpaw flattened her ears.

"Hey, give him a break. We'll all be more careful from here on out." she murmured. Applepaw's narrow green eyes fixed on her.

"We should have been being careful this entire time. Bearpaw has nearly fallen off the mountain, fallen from a tree, and nearly gotten us eaten by wolves. All, TODAY. You, Moonpaw, have been acting better on this trip, and you were the one who nearly caused a riot in camp when you were announced. It's ridiculous that Bearpaw has screwed up so much. He's already failed three times, next time he surely won't be so lucky." he growled. Bearpaw flinched at his brother's scathing words, and his shoulders drooped.

"I know, I know... I'm sorry. I swear I'm not meaning to mess up so bad. I promise, next screw up won't be on me."

"I sure hope not. I'd rather my brother not die on a pointless journey."

"We're done! Come now, it's time for bed!" Hazelflight called. The three apprentices paused in their conversation, turning back toward the golden-brown she-cat, who approached them with a flick of her ear. "We need to rest now so we can rise early tomorrow. We'll need to try and hunt and get a move on as quickly as we can. Shadowwhispers really wants us to put a distance between us and the wolves as soon as possible." she added.

"Is anyone keeping guard?" Applepaw asked, sending a nervous glance back toward the path that they had taken to this clearing. "I know the cliff fell in, but if those wolves really wanted to get us..."

"Shadowwhispers is standing guard for now. I'll swap in with him after a while, assuming all goes well." Hazelflight assured him. Applepaw nodded quietly, before padding off toward the nest, Bearpaw at his side. Moonpaw stood as well to follow the toms, glancing toward Hazelflight as she came to her side.

"You don't think those wolves will come, do you?" she asked softly. Hazelflight purred reassuringly.

"I doubt it. The prey back at the valley was fat, and would be much less effort than climbing over to hunt us down, then dragging us back. Worst comes to worst, we just have to climb the trees. Dogs can't climb, so I doubt wolves would either." she explained. Moonpaw nodded, feeling a bit better about the situation, and followed after the toms, Hazelflight at her tail.

Bearpaw and Applepaw had settled into the nest by Darkfire, seemingly having forgotten their argument at the pond as they prepared to sleep close together. Moonpaw wished she had the same luxury of cuddling up next to her sister. She sure missed Mothpaw right now, snotty attitude or not. Hazelflight seemed to notice her homesickness and purred, lightly curling her tail over the younger she-cat's flank.

"Don't worry, we'll have somewhere safer to sleep tomorrow. You can sleep by me." she offered. Maybe she hadn't understood the homesickness, but the offer wasn't exactly something Moonpaw was opposed to. Hazelflight was technically kin of her mother's kin, after all.

"Thanks." Moonpaw murmured, letting out a loud yawn and stretching before crawling into the now crowded nest. She felt Hazelflight's soft fur pressing against hers as the young warrior settled in her own spot, seeming content as she let out a small yawn as well.

"Let me know when it's my turn, Shadowwhispers!" she called softly. The gray and black tom sent a glance toward her and nodded to acknowledge he'd heard her, but otherwise turned his attention back to the path, looking alert. Moonpaw snuggled against Hazelflight, resting her head on the she-cat's belly. She didn't smell of milk, yet somehow still reminded her so much of nursing at Calmwind back when Moonpaw was a much younger kit. She supposed it was the she-cat's similar tawny pelt and gentle presence.  _Great StarClan, do I miss her._ Moonpaw couldn't help but wonder if her father did as well, before nearly smacking herself. OF COURSE, he did. Calmwind was his mate! He was just too busy being in charge to talk about it... Moonpaw wished she could feel that busy.

Moonpaw felt another yawn escape her jaws and let her eyes remain shut. She hadn't realized how tired she was until now. It had indeed been a long day. And maybe, just maybe, it would be a dream, and she would wake up back in the apprentice den with Bluepaw and the others at her side.

She could only hope.


	13. Apple - Crushes and Conversations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Applepaw and Hazelflight have a heart to heart talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas or whatever other holidays you may celebrate!

Applepaw felt pretty proud of himself as he padded back toward the makeshift camp with two mice in his jaws, reminding himself that he also had a shrew buried somewhere nearby. It had been a greatly successful hunt, and he couldn't wait to see what Hazelflight and Moonpaw had caught! He figured Hazelflight had at least caught a couple birds or some mice or something, as she was a decent huntress, even if he had managed to surpass her. He was more worried about Moonpaw, whose hunting skill he was completely unfamiliar with. All he really knew about the she-cat was that she seemed to have natural fighting talent, which she had shown during that first spar with him and Bearpaw.

_Speaking of Bearpaw..._ Applepaw had noticed that the pair had spent most of the resting time on the journey together. He had assumed before that Bearpaw was developing a crush on the younger she-cat, but now it seemed to be very heavily confirmed by their constant talking. And unfortunately, Bearpaw seemed to be a somewhat negative influence on Moonpaw, given the previous night with the wolves. Bearpaw had admitted to them finding nests in the den, and both of them had seemed to get away with hardly a cuff of the ears! While Applepaw would usually be cheering with his brother over getting away with doing something wrong, now was not the time for them to make such big mistakes, especially with a young apprentice! This was their test to prove they could be warriors, fair or not, and they needed to be treating it as such!

Applepaw sighed and paused, catching sight of a white pelt a few fox-lengths ahead. He ducked and crept forward slowly, not wanting to startle anything, and noted that Moonpaw was standing absolutely still, her eyes focused on a robin. Applepaw gently set his pair of mice on the ground, and sat up to watch the she-cat's technique. Moonpaw slowly took a step toward, though Applepaw noted that she seemed to be too stiff and heavy. The bird suddenly looked around when the white she-cat's tail brushed against a bush behind her, and Moonpaw froze, clearly panicking, before she sprinted forward. The bird was in the air before she could leap, and out of reach when she finally flung herself at it. Moonpaw landed hard on the ground with a huff, and sat up to shake her fur quickly, still watching the now retreating bird.

Applepaw slunk forward, calling a greeting to the young she-cat. "You could have gotten it if you weren't so nervous." he noted, pausing at her side. Moonpaw glanced at him, startled by his voice, then looked wary. Applepaw could tell she remembered his harsh words from the previous night, and figured she was not in the mood to hear them again, so he fell silent for a moment. He felt a little guilty about his snapping at Bearpaw, now that everything had calmed down and he had slept, and had already filed it away to apologize to his brother later. As for Moonpaw... He felt that maybe he should take some responsibility for her, and show her better how to act. After all, if she completely relied on Bearpaw to be a role model, then she would come out a total mess. As much as Applepaw loved his brother and did intend to apologize for snapping last night, he was still aware that his brother was not exactly the pinnacle of following rules and being responsible. If Bearpaw was not asked directly to do something, it would not be done.

But Moonpaw clearly was not comfortable around him, and likely thought he was a total jerk. Applepaw could tell that from how tense her shoulders were, and how she was still looking dejectedly in the direction of her escaped robin. Maybe a few tips would help show that he didn't mean any harm?

"You were too stiff. Next time you go after a bird, you need to walk as lightly and confidently as possible. They're very fast, and escape easily, so you need to be ready to strike without warning." Applepaw explained. Moonpaw glanced back toward him, dejection turning to curiosity.

"Wasn't that what I was doing?" she asked. Applepaw shook his head and crouched, giving her a demonstration.

"You were walking stiff, like this, and you weren't keeping track of your tail. You have a really fluffy one, so it can brush over leaves and grass and stuff if you aren't careful, see?" he explained, copying the way he had seen her creeping up on the bird. "What you need to do, is walk more confidently and keep light on your paws so you can move fast, and keep your tail completely still so you don't hit anything with it, like this!" he finished, changing to a more proper demonstration as he went over the tips. Moonpaw watched him with great interest, before quickly moving to copy him. Applepaw paused and watched her, nodding as he watched her pad forward toward a stray pebble, and leap forward to 'catch' it.

"Was that right?" she asked, glancing back at him. Applepaw purred and nodded.

"Yep! Just keep practicing it, you'll catch that bird next time." he encouraged. He padded back to retrieve his mice. "Did you manage to catch something else?"

"Yeah, a squirrel." she replied, pulling her own catch from the bush that had ruined her hunt. Applepaw glanced at it, noting that it was very old and not meaty, an easy catch for any cat. But, he reminded himself that she was an apprentice and still clearly learning, and decided not to give her a hard time or tease her about it.

"That's a good catch, we should get our prey back toward camp so we can get moving as fast as possible." he purred. Moonpaw's eyes lit up at the compliment, and she nodded in agreement. "I also have a shrew buried up ahead, you can help carry that or the mice if you like, it's nice and fat." Applepaw purred, picking up his mice and bounding past her toward his buried prey. He heard Moonpaw following quickly after him, enough that she bumped into him when he paused next to a mound. He set his mice down and quickly uncovered his shrew, stepping back to allow the young white she-cat to see.

"Wow, that's why better than my dusty old squirrel. I wonder how it got so fat."

"Plenty of creepy-crawlies around here. I found it in an old log stuffing its face. The best way to hunt, is to know what your prey wants to go after. You can lay a trap from there." Applepaw boasted, purring happily at Moonpaw's enthusiastic tone and expression.

"That's smart, I'll keep that in mind. Want me to carry your mice? That shrew's like, as big as I am." she joked. Applepaw shook his head.

"I wouldn't say it's that big, but if you insist." he replied, pushing the mice toward the smaller she-cat before quickly grabbing his shrew and padding off. He heard Moonpaw fall in quickly beside him, and the pair walked comfortably along the path. It didn't take them long to come back to their camp, where the other three toms were waiting. Bearpaw was at the foot of the path that had led them from the valley, clearly watching out just in case the wolves decided that they did want to climb the collapsed cliff to get some cats for breakfast. Shadowwhispers was resting, having guarded most of the night, and Darkfire seemed to be relaxing by the pond, pausing from drinking when he noticed the approaching apprentices.

"Darkfire seems happy to finally be free of Shadowwhispers fussing over his leg... He was really uncomfortable with all that attention last night, heroic or not." Moonpaw purred. Applepaw scoffed.

"Honestly, Darkfire ALWAYS seems uncomfortable. So I don't really see much difference now." he noted. Moonpaw bumped her shoulder against his side before brushing past him and making her way to her mentor. Applepaw quickly followed after her, sending only a glance back to see if Hazelflight was anywhere to be seen. He figured his mentor would be joining them shortly as well, since they had wanted to get moving as quickly as possible... Maybe her hunt wasn't going as well? Either way, he had caught enough to feed at least half of them, small meal or not.

"Good hunt?" Darkfire asked, sitting up and watching as Moonpaw dropped the prey at her mentor's side.

"Not me, Applepaw! I only got the squirrel. I almost got a bird, but missed it. Applepaw gave me tips though, so next time I promise I'll get one!" Moonpaw purred excitedly. Applepaw felt a little hot under his fur at the white she-cat's praise, and the thankful look she sent toward him didn't hurt either. He set down his shrew beside the mice and glanced toward Shadowwhispers.

"When are we going to get him up? Hazelflight should be back soon, then we'll need to get a move on." he pointed out, trying to keep himself focused on tasks, and not getting swept up in getting his ego fed.

"You can wake him if you want. Take him a mouse, you and Moonpaw can share your shrew. You deserve it for hunting." Darkfire ordered. Moonpaw purred and took a mouse.

"I'll take it to him! You can take something over to Bearpaw, I'm sure Hazelflight will catch her own prey!" the white she-cat chirped, padding happily toward her father. Applepaw glanced at the remaining mouse and the squirrel.

"I guess I'll give him that squirrel then." he muttered. Darkfire pulled the squirrel away before he could, pushing the mouse forward instead.

"That squirrel is kind of pathetic. My apprentice caught it, I'll eat it." Darkfire argued. Applepaw shifted uncomfortably on his paws.

"But that doesn't seem fair... Give it to Bearpaw as punishment for his mess up, he got away relatively free with the whole wolf fiasco." he pointed out. Darkfire shook his head.

"A punishment isn't about causing suffering, it's about learning a lesson. Bearpaw stayed back with Shadowwhispers to fight, he could have lost his life in that situation. He knows his clan-mates come first, and was willing to right that wrong." Darkfire responded.

"But... You got hurt. At the very least, don't you think you should get the better prey for that?"

"I didn't save my clan-mates for a reward, I saved them because it's what I was supposed to do. An honorable warrior takes care of their clan-mates, especially those who are younger and too inexperienced to properly handle situations like yesterday's."

"Oh... I guess that makes sense. I wasn't thinking about it like that, I guess."

"Doeeye told me that when I was still an apprentice. I try to keep it in mind as my own personal code." Darkfire responded, tone seeming to indicate he was finished with the conversation as he leaned down and took a bite of the squirrel. Applepaw watched him for a moment, thinking about the idea of having a personal code, before shaking his head and picking up a mouse, turning and bounding off toward his brother. As he made his way toward Bearpaw, he noted that Hazelflight was returning back to camp.

After a quick drop off to Bearpaw, who seemed grateful for the juicy rodent, Applepaw quickly made his way back to meet up with his mentor. The pretty golden-brown she-cat was settling next to Darkfire, a single thrush dropped between her fore-paws. Moonpaw was at her opposite side, nibbling at one half of the shrew. Applepaw quickly took his place beside Moonpaw, settling close enough that her soft pelt was pressed against his side. Moonpaw sent a glance toward him, but quickly went back to her shrew, content to eat. Hazelflight picked at the feathers that covered her bird, sending a glance toward Darkfire and his squirrel.

"Oh, that doesn't look like very much. Would you like to share with me?" she asked, between pulling some feathers from the breast of the bird. Darkfire seemed to debate for a moment, then shrugged.

"If you don't eat the whole thing, I can take what's left. The squirrel's meatier than it looks." he replied. Applepaw doubted that, but figured Darkfire was doing it to spare his apprentice's feelings, so he didn't say anything either. Hazelflight seemed unconvinced as well, but didn't push it. Shadowwhispers had approached the group at this point, dropping down beside Darkfire with his mouse. Applepaw figured his brother would be over any time, and let himself feel at peace. It was almost like they were back at camp, all settling down at sunhigh with a meal. If only that were the case. Shadowwhispers purred as he looked at the group, seeming to feel the same way.

"Eat up guys, we're gonna have a long journey today without those travelling herbs. We need to be ready for anything.

* * *

"Moonpaw, fall in behind me. Bearpaw, I want you to follow her. Hazelflight, Applepaw, can you two take up the rear to keep an eye on Darkfire? Wouldn't want him slipping with his injury." Shadowwhispers noted. Darkfire grunted.

"I'm not that badly injured, it's just a scrape. If I got an injury like this back home and tried to complain about it the next day, Glimmerwind would claw my ears off." he muttered. Shadowwhispers shook his head.

"Better safe than sorry. It is a leg injury, after all." he noted, flicking his tail before he started quickly along the path. Moonpaw quickly filed in behind her father, with Bearpaw also following. Darkfire muttered something under his breath as he also joined the others on the path. Applepaw glanced toward Hazelflight, who nodded for him to go ahead of her. Applepaw followed after Darkfire, deciding to take an easy pace so as not to annoy the clearly grouchy tom by being right on his tail and treating him like a small kit. He could feel Hazelflight right on his tail, and felt a little embarrassed about the she-cat's closeness. He sent a glance back toward her, and noticed that she was focusing hard on him, as if afraid that he would slip.

"Keep walking, you're alright." Hazelflight purred. Applepaw felt hot under his fur, feeling as if her tone was almost one that would be used with a kit. He quickly looked back forward, but decided to get the topic off of potentially falling, afraid of getting babied by his mentor... It would be weird to have a crush on a she-cat that viewed him as a kit, after all, and he sincerely hoped she didn't view him that way!

"I wonder how Wolfclaw's doing back home... I hope we get back before her kits are born." he murmured.

"I wouldn't worry about it. Wolfclaw's kits will probably arrive at the tail-end of New-leaf, based on how small her belly was when we left. Those kits will definitely be here and walking by Greenleaf though." Hazelflight assured him. Applepaw purred a bit at the idea of his sister's kits, bouncing around outside the nursery like he once did with Wolfclaw and Bearpaw.

"I bet they'll be really cute. Really small, like their mother." he laughed. Hazelflight chuckled under her breath.

"They'll surely be cute. Their mother is the pretty one of her litter." she teased. "You almost seem like you're as excited as a father!"

"Yeah, well..." Applepaw paused, feeling bashful. "You know, we were always so close. Me, Bearpaw, Wolfclaw, and Turtleshell. I'm just feeling really happy for them. They'll make good parents, especially Wolfclaw." he noted.

"Yeah, Smokerise said the same thing. She really enjoyed Wolfclaw as an apprentice, says she's jealous of her apprentice having kits before her though."

"I guess it is a little weird." Applepaw agreed, hesitating for a moment before he decided to push his luck. He knew Hazelflight wouldn't be able to tell him if she had a crush on him, as she was still technically his mentor, but maybe he could get an idea of where her feelings were? "You and Smokerise don't have mates yet... But Wolfclaw does. Why is that? No toms you like?" he asked, tone teasing.

"Hmm... Smokerise used to have the biggest crush on Pikefang, but he's with Sunflare now. Poor thing, she was so crushed." she noted. Applepaw felt a bit like she was avoiding the subject, but assured himself that she was just thinking about her sister first.

"And you? Are there any toms you've liked?" he asked, deciding to attempt being just a little more direct this time. He was very curious, but afraid of pushing to hard. Hazelflight was quiet for a long moment, and Applepaw was beginning to think that his mentor wasn't going to answer the question when she finally spoke.

"Are there any she-cats you like?" she asked, keeping her tone light, but cautious. Applepaw felt a bit confused, unsure whether her caution was because she returned his feelings or if she just didn't feel comfortable, but decided to give her an answer so as not to upset her.

"I dunno, I've always found she-cats with golden fur pretty." he responded. It wasn't really a lie, as he had always found golden fur attractive. He had developed crushes on both Roseear and Hazelflight, who both had golden or goldenish fur. Maybe it wasn't a full answer, but he felt comfortable enough that it wasn't dishonest!

"Golden, huh? You must have really enjoyed being Mothpaw's little hero then." Hazelflight teased. Applepaw shrugged.

"She's pretty... I don't like her that way though." he admitted. Hazelflight purred.

"Sure." she joked. They walked in silence for a moment. It was fairly comfortable, but Applepaw was itching inside to get some kind of answer out of Hazelflight. He was still debating on asking again about her crushes, when the she-cat began to speak again. "I've always found golden pelts really pretty too. Roseear... Have you ever see her in the sunlight? I always used to wish that my pelt was that pretty." she murmured wistfully. Applepaw was a bit surprised to hear Roseear's name come up, but reminded himself that Hazelflight was very good friends with her, so of course she would miss her.

"I think you're pretty the way you ae." he complimented, feeling a little surprised that the she-cat wished she could be prettier. He had always thought it was a pretty widely held belief in their clan that Hazelflight was one of the prettier she-cats. Hazelflight giggled a little under her breath, almost sounding like Daisypaw when she was in a gossipy mood.

"Roseear told me that too." she purred warmly. Applepaw shifted a bit uncomfortably, feeling jealousy toward... He wasn't quite sure who. Hazelflight seemed to almost be like a kit fawning over their first love.

"You sound kind of like Daisypaw when she's talking about love and the secret crushes around camp." he joked... Or at least tried too. He was honestly feeling very jealous of the idea that Hazelflight liked another tom. He knew it was silly, she had never showed any interest in him, but he still liked her. Maybe that was the danger of developing crushes on cats that were older than him, Wolfclaw had always told him to set his sights on another apprentice if he really wanted to find a she-cat who shared feelings for him.

"Mhmm." Hazelflight agreed, though Applepaw felt like she wasn't paying any attention to him at this point. Applepaw felt a bit of irritation rising up at this point, as he felt like Hazelflight was dancing around actually telling him anything. He decided to be direct, as that was the only way he was going to get any answers.

"So who do you like, then? You never told me his name." he pressed. Hazelflight seemed to snap out of her daydreaming state, and Applepaw felt tension in the air for a moment before she actually said anything.

"Not every she-cat likes toms in that way. I prefer the company of she-cats, myself. Always have." Hazelflight responded, tone rigid and defensive. Applepaw was a bit startled by that, but quickly recovered, trying his best to wrap his brain around what she was saying.

"Are you saying that you... That you're in love with another she-cat?" he asked. Applepaw felt a little hot under his fur, almost like he was dumb and not understanding her correctly. He had never considered the idea that Hazelflight didn't like toms, nor had he ever heard of any other she-cats being that way.

"Is there something wrong with that?" Hazelflight demanded, tone a strange combination of defensiveness and genuine curiosity. Applepaw quickly shook his head.

"No! I mean, I don't think so... It's just odd, I guess. I've never seen any she-cats that like she-cats, or toms that like toms." he admitted. He chanced a glance back at the she-cat, and noted that her shoulders seemed to relax a little at that response. After a moment, she spoke again in a soft voice.

"Well you know now. And I would appreciate if you didn't spread it around." she mumbled. There was silence for a moment, and Applepaw had to look back to make sure she was still walking behind him.

"So... What she-cat do you like, then? Is she pretty?" he asked, trying to make his tone as light and teasing as possible. As crushed as he felt knowing she didn't, and never would, like him back, he still hated to see her so... Deflated. She looked pathetically sad, and over something that Applepaw found strange, but not such a big deal. Hazelflight perked up a little at her apprentice's tone, sending a wary glance toward him before she finally answered.

"Isn't it obvious? Roseear. I've always... You know. She's great." Hazelflight replied softly. Applepaw wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry about the fact that he and his mentor had apparently had a crush on the same cat at one point, and instead settled on trying to encourage her and continue cheering her up.

"Roseear is pretty great. She's pretty and smart. I always bet Shadowwhispers would make her his deputy once he becomes leader." he noted. Hazelflight managed a purr at that.

"Oh, you couldn't know the half of it. Roseear would have been deputy already if she'd had an apprentice before Mothpaw. Anyone could see that she took so well after both of her parents. Sparrowear was deputy before, and that's her father... Doeeye was well respected as well. And Glimmerwind's her sister... She comes from a really good family, and that's not even touching on her individually! She excels when she leads patrols, she always knows just what to do, she's amazing at assessing situations and making the best choice... She's a perfect warrior." Hazelflight gushed, tone getting more and more comfortable as all the thoughts she had apparently been hiding spewed forward. Applepaw decided to keep quiet and listen to his mentor speak, feeling happy in spite of his heartbreak. She seemed so happy to finally have someone to talk to, and Applepaw was glad that he could be there for her.

"...Thanks. It's kind of nice to be able to talk about it... I'm sure you don't want to hear me keep babbling about it though." Hazelflight finally finished, laughing a bit at how caught up she had gotten in her rambling list of things she liked about Roseear. Applepaw shook his head.

"Don't worry about it, it's nice seeing you so happy. In hindsight it all kind of makes sense... You always seemed so happy when we ran into her, and you were always requesting for her to join our patrols... I can't believe I didn't see it." he replied.

"Well, like you said... Most she-cats like toms... Nobody assumes they'll like another she-cat. It's a little strange." she murmured. Applepaw nodded.

"A little... But most cats are strange in some way." he pointed out. Hazelflight laughed.

"I like how you think. I wish others were as understanding as you..." she murmured, good mood seeming to fade a bit. "...I told Mothpetal and Smokerise too. They're the only others who know, besides you... Smokerise seemed a little weirded out, like you, but she told me it's my business regardless. Asked me how I would have kits with a she-cat, seemed surprised when I told her that you don't need to take a tom as a mate to have his kits. But, I digress... Mothpetal was... She was the one that made me afraid of telling anyone else." she admitted. Applepaw's ears perked to attention.

"What do you mean? What did she do?" he asked. Hazelflight was silent for a long moment before responding.

"Told me I'd be a disgrace to the clan if I took a she-cat for a mate. How would there be a new generation of kits, apprentices, and warriors if she-cats were with she-cats? She was just... I dunno, really hateful about it all. Like a pair of she-cat mates would send the clan into ruin by ending kitting. There are plenty of she-cats moving in and out of the nursery, one or two she-cats not having kits won't hurt anyone. And like I said before, I haven't completely thrown out the idea of having my own kits, just not having a tom as my mate. It's ridiculous, like we didn't just have three queens leave the nursery with newly apprenticed kits, and then get immediately replaced by Snowbird and Wolfclaw. Our clan is not hurting for kits, you know?" she ranted angrily.

"Yeah... No offense, but... Mothpetal's always been a little uptight." he pointed out.

"I know. She's my mother, I've gotten used to it... I guess I just thought she wouldn't spit at me in the way she did over something that I have no control over. It just... It hurt, you know? You want your mother to be able to like the cat you choose as your mate... I didn't even feel comfortable with telling mine the exact cat I like, though she clearly already suspects it's Roseear. Did you see how impatient she was when we went to Star-cavern? She didn't want me anywhere NEAR Roseear." Hazelflight mumbled. Applepaw nodded.

"I don't know what I would do if Firefoot told me she disapproved of my mate or crush or whatever. Let alone knowing ANYONE I choose would be wrong." he agreed. Hazelflight nodded, tail twitching in irritation. They walked in silence again before Applepaw spoke, not even sure what he was saying as it was coming out of his mouth.

"You should tell Roseear anyway. I don't think she would be judgmental like Mothpetal, she's really nice." he blurted. Hazelflight seemed startled for a moment.

"...Yeah? She might not even like she-cats, though." she pointed out.

"I didn't know you liked she-cats until I asked, and you'll never know if she does until you ask. She lights up around you just like you do around her, for all you know... She feels the same way." he responded. Hazelflight seemed to mull this over for a moment, before purring a bit.

"Yeah... Yeah, you're right! As soon as we get home, I'll march right up to her and tell her!" she decided, flicking her tail happily. Applepaw purred a bit.

"Let me know how that goes, then." he agreed. They walked in silence for a bit, and Applepaw raked his brain for topics that would get his mind off of crushes and love and all that uncomfortable stuff that was stinging in his chest at the moment now that they had fallen back into quiet.

"So...What do you think they're doing back home without Shadowwhispers? It's a little weird to send the deputy off, anything could happen to Mockingstar while we're gone, then the clan would be left without a leader." Applepaw noted.

"Roseear or someone else would step up to fill the void in the worst case scenario. But Mockingstar also has nine lives, and I don't believe he's lost any yet. He hasn't really been leader for very long, you know, Scarstar only passed right before you and your littermates were apprenticed." Hazelflight pointed out. Applepaw shrugged.

"I just think it's really weird."

"Well, I suppose it is. But Shadowwhispers volunteered, right? I thought I heard Mockingstar mention that. As much of a liar as I think he is, I kind of believe that, given that Shadowwhispers learned some tips from the medicine cats and was all over Darkfire when he got injured. But still, I agree that it's a strange move to send off your deputy. I was sure he would place Roseear or Nightsoul in charge of this little expedition, either of them would be fairly qualified for it and wouldn't leave the clan in a predicament if things went bad back home while we're gone."

"Exactly. That's what I mean. Like, if Mockingstar were to drop dead right now, there would be no deputy or leader. Even if Roseear took charge, who's to day the clan would trust her to lead until Shadowwhispers comes back? How long will we be gone? Nobody knows anything right now, but let's just place the clan in an awkward situation because StarClan wants us to go help some strangers by crossing Death Mountain. It just seems like a dumb idea to me."

"Of course it is, Mockingstar's full of them." Hazelflight agreed. Applepaw snorted in his effort to hold back a laugh, and glanced forward in time to see that Darkfire had stopped and was now glaring at him.

"Will the two of you keep up? You've been hanging back and giggling about whatever all day. Bearpaw says that Shadowwhispers sees a spot to potentially rest up ahead, so stop playing around." he scolded.

"Sorry, Darkfire, we have been a little distracted." Hazelflight apologized. "We'll keep up from now on." she added. Darkfire grunted before turning back forward and continuing on his way. Applepaw quickly followed after him, feeling Hazelflight right on his tail.

It didn't take long for them to catch up to the group, which were spreading out in another small area that was wide enough for the cats to sit around in a circle. There was no water source in this one like the last two, and the ground seemed much more rocky with less vegetation for prey to hide in. In fact, Applepaw couldn't smell anything else alive at all here, which felt very strange for the adept tracker. It almost made him feel uncomfortable to be in such a bleak area.

"This doesn't look good." Shadowwhispers noted, looking at one of the paths that led ahead. It was incredibly narrow, enough so that it wasn't even really wide enough for a cat to stand comfortably. Applepaw and Moonpaw, small as they were, would both have to stand with their paws one in front of the other, rather than normally with forepaws and hindpaws side by side. Applepaw swallowed nervously as the idea of going along that path. Someone would surely fall if they tried.

"We could go down that one." Hazelflight pointed out, nodding toward a path that led the opposite way. Darkfire shook his head.

"That would lead us back toward the branch where we found the valley cliffs, or at least back to where one of those paths split off. It would be a huge waste of our time." he argued. Hazelflight and Shadowwhispers both seemed to think that over.

"Would be better than falling from a narrow ledge."

"It's better to run around in circles indefinitely? I would rather risk it and get to our destination than become trapped on a mountain." Darkfire argued. There was again a tense silence.

"Maybe there's another path? If we look around a bit?" Moonpaw suggested. Shadowwhispers glanced toward his daughter, shaking his head.

"I doubt it, but feel free to look. Applepaw, stay with her." he ordered, before turning back to Darkfire and Hazelflight as they continued their discussion on the current two paths. Applepaw quickly made his way over to Moonpaw, and the pair carefully began to circle the area, with the younger seeming to search for some secret path. Applepaw didn't bother, figuring it was pointless and the warriors would decide any moment now on which way they were going. He was eager to get back to walking and continue his talk with Hazelflight, as it had been nice when they were talking. Almost as if they were back home. Applepaw was just beginning to let himself daydream about those days when Moonpaw suddenly let out a loud, squeaky mewl of excitement.

"Look, I found a path! It's a little climb down, but it would be wide enough to comfortably follow!" she declared. Applepaw jumped in surprise, then quickly peered over the cliff, toward where the white apprentice was gesturing. Sure enough, a few fox-lengths down, was a wider path, much like the earliest one they had followed. It seemed stable enough, and was wide enough to be comfortable, as Moonpaw had pointed out.

"Good spot." he complimented. Moonpaw's eyes shined at the praise, and Shadowwhispers quickly made his way over.

"Well, I'll be... Good job, Moonpaw!" he purred, pressing his muzzle lightly to the top of his daughter's head. He then slowly began the descent down, which caused Hazelflight to hiss is surprise.

"Shadowwhispers, be careful!" she begged. Shadowwhispers shot her a reassuring look before he quickly returned to his awkward climb down, not relaxing until his hind paws touched the path. He settled completely on the ground before looking up to the group with a purr.

"Start down, one at a time! I'll make sure nobody falls!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hazelflight coming out was just a little awkward. But I've never seen a proper gay couple in warriors so I'm just going on a character by character basis on how everyone reacts.


	14. Lavender - Deception

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lavenderpaw and Roseear have a discussion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minor warning, I guess: There is some somewhat implied grooming... Like, grooming between a mentor and an apprentice. Think, Spottedleaf's Heart, but with Spottedleaf instantly realizing that it's wrong for a warrior to make 'romantic' advances on her. This is not written out though, because it's mentioned as a past event and not given explicit details. I don't feel it's that bad, but I felt it would be best to give a warning just in case you don't want to read this chapter or are sensitive to things like pedophilia and/or attempted child grooming. If you don't, I'll summarize it at the end chapter notes.

Lavenderpaw paused as she made it to the camp entrance, glancing up toward the sky. She had gone out and gathered some moss to redo her and Glimmerwind's nests, and was currently in a bit of a hurry. There were gloomy clouds blocking out the sun, and she had a strong suspicion that it was going to storm later today. She wanted to be well done with her duties, so she could just curl up in her den and sleep through the rain. Lavenderpaw always felt anxious when there was thunder and lightning, and knew her fear of it was somewhat irrational. But Glimmerwind had promised that she would let her sleep if she finished her list of tasks, and Lavenderpaw was making fairly good time. This in mind, Lavenderpaw stepped into camp and was beginning toward the medicine cat den when she heard a yowl from the Towering Tree.

"Clan meeting everyone!" Mockingstar called. Lavenderpaw glanced toward the dark tom, and wavered slightly as she debated between going back to the medicine den to set the moss down, then decided she would just hold it as she padded over and settled beside Daisypaw, who sent her a sympathetic look.

"Nest-making?" she asked, as if Lavenderpaw was being tortured by the simple task. Lavenderpaw set the moss between her paws and shrugged.

"It's not so bad when you have to deal with yanking thorns from paws, delivering newborn kits, and generally listen to clan-mates in pain. Nest making is one of my more peaceful duties, honestly." she replied. Daisypaw seemed to think that over for a moment.

"Still boring though. At least when you're doing those other things, you're doing something important and fulfilling. Changing out bedding is just... Ugh. Give me ANYTHING else to do." she argued. Lavenderpaw shrugged.

"To each their own, I suppose."

"Clan-mates, I have decided that there is something very important that must be done." Mockingstar began. Daisypaw rolled her eyes and leaned over to Lavenderpaw.

"Last time he said that, we sent six cats to their deaths." she whispered critically. Lavenderpaw winced at the idea, remembering Moonpaw's small frame scampering after Darkfire up the mountain, and Daisypaw quickly fell silent in realization.

"Shadowwhispers is our deputy, as everyone knows, but he is currently not here to fulfill his duties. Because of this, I have decided that we will have a temporary deputy." he declared, turning his gaze to a familiar golden-pelted she-cat. "Roseear, you will serve as my deputy until Shadowwhispers returns."

"Now hold on!" Calmwind hissed from near the nursery. The former queen was on her paws, amber eyes blazing and defiant as she glared up at the leader. "A deputy is not someone who can just be replaced or substituted. Shadowwhispers is the future leader of this clan, what would happen if you fell dead right now? Is Roseear going to be sent off to Star-cavern to get some temporary nine lives? That's ridiculous, and you know it!" she hissed. Mockingstar's pelt bristled, and Lavenderpaw got flash-backs of the previous two clan meetings.

"Is that a threat?" he growled out, taking a step in her direction. Softpelt hopped to her feet, not taking very kindly to the threatening gesture toward her friend, as slight as it was.

"Don't try to pull that again, Mockingstar. You know exactly what she means, and it certainly wasn't to threaten you. Which is more than I could say I would hold back if it were my mate and daughter on that trip." the blue-gray she-cat snapped. Mockingstar opened his mouth to retort, then looked around at the clan and thought better of it. His pelt was still ruffled though, and his eyes still wild.

Lavenderpaw had noted that the leader seemed to be showing more and more erratic behavior over the past moon, and it seemed to correspond with how much he was becoming aware that his clan was not fond of him, and that he was starting to really lose control of their behavior in general. Lavenderpaw hoped that Shadowwhispers would return soon, as the clan would likely settle and become better behaved once there was another cat at the top to properly balance out Mockingstar's behavior. Honestly, she wasn't even fully against Roseear fulfilling the role temporarily. At least that would mean there was someone in some sort of power that could be trusted.

"Who can even guarantee that Shadowwhispers will return with the others? I'm sure he would approve of my choice to have a new deputy, just in case." Mockingstar finally responded, seeming to be trying his best to keep his emotions under control.

"Just in CASE!? What, you think he'll die, and STILL sent them!?" Calmwind hissed, quickly losing control of hers. Softpelt quickly twined her tail with Calmwind's, and licked at the she-cat's ears in an almost maternal way.

"Hey, easy, I doubt he meant it like that." she tried to soothe. "He'll be back."

"I hope he'll return as well. But Shadowwhispers would want us to be prepared for the worst. If he comes back, he takes his rightful place. If not, then Roseear will be settled into the role so we're taken care of. Either way is a win." Mockingstar growled out bluntly. Lavenderpaw shifted closer to Daisypaw, something deep in her heart sinking. Calmwind's outburst had brought out a real fear in her... Did Mockingstar plan on Shadowwhispers returning? What about the others? Nothing had felt right about this, and he certainly wasn't making it any better with how callously he was speaking to the mate of his current deputy.

Roseear didn't seem too thrilled either. The golden she-cat was visibly uncomfortable, with her body stiff and her paws shuffling awkwardly beneath her. Lavenderpaw wondered why the she-cat never seemed to speak out against Mockingstar. She was usually very vocal, and while a generally nice and patient cat with younger warriors and apprentices, was known for being very proud and almost aggressive with things she believed in. At least, from what she had heard from warriors like Bonesnap and Smokerise.

Now the golden she-cat looked far from proud. She almost looked like a frightened apprentice who was scared of stepping out of line. The whole thing unsettled Lavenderpaw greatly, as she again flashed back to Mockingstar rudely telling her to stop rambling, and just generally treating her as a nuisance back when she had first spoken to him about her StarClan dream. She was pushed out of the upsetting memory by her sister lightly nudging her shoulder, and turned her amber gaze to Daisypaw's questioning green one.

"I'm alright." she assured her sister, shifting a bit close in spite of herself when she heard a soft boom of thunder, far in the distance.  _You're letting your storm anxieties get to you, Roseear's fine too._ Lavenderpaw assured herself. Daisypaw sat tall, wrapping her tail almost protectively around Lavenderpaw's body. She sent a grateful look toward her sister, before turning her attention back to Mockingstar, who was clearing his throat loudly.

"What I've said is done, we will no longer speak about this. Roseear is deputy until Shadowwhispers returns, end of discussion. I'm getting back to my den before that storm hits. Roseear, why don't you get some border and hunting patrols out before the rain sends everyone to cover?" he ordered, flicking his tail before turning and entering his den. Roseear stumbled to her paws, seeming very flustered as she looked around at all the eyes now on her.

"Oh, um... Yes. Don't worry, I won't replace Shadowwhispers. If something happens to Mockingstar, I'll just hold the clan together until he gets back." she clarified awkwardly, as it wanting to clear up the mess that Mockingstar had started. Unfortunately, Lavenderpaw doubted it would be the only time she would have to smooth things over like that, and the black she-cat hoped that Roseear was up to that challenge.

"Thank you, Roseear. I know it's not your fault. I'll volunteer for a patrol, if you like." Calmwind murmured, voice going from the harshness of arguing with Mockingstar to her normal, softer tone that she reserved for normal conversation. Lavenderpaw felt her stomach settle a little, noticing that the tension was already dissipating from the air. It seemed that Mockingstar's presence was the cause of most clan drama, but that the clan was still held together when they felt the leadership was trustworthy, like with the temporary deputy of Roseear.

"Thank you... I would like for you to take... Bonesnap and Daisypaw. On a border patrol, out toward the river. Softpelt, you take Stagpelt and Pikefang out the other way. Silverheart, you take out Turtleshell and Bluepaw." Roseear decided, stammering quickly becoming more firm and authoritative as she settled into the making of the patrols. Mothpetal rose and stepped forward, pausing at her sister's side as she waited for Bonesnap and Daisypaw to make their way over to her.

"I suppose I should join Silverheart's patrol?" she asked. Roseear shook her head.

"I think Turtleshell will be fine on his own. Gives him a chance to show he's earned his warrior name, you won't be unofficially mentoring him forever." she replied. Mothpetal twitched her ear, sending an unconvinced look toward her former apprentice, who seemed to brighten at the idea of not being babied, before grunting and making her way off toward Smokerise, no longer interested. Lavenderpaw felt fortunate that her mentor liked her, and that they wouldn't ever have to stop being close as the only two medicine cats. She was startled to feel Daisypaw nudging her side.

"Would you like for me to stay? I'm sure Roseear would understand." she offered softly. Lavenderpaw felt hot under her fur with embarrassment, though she knew that her sisters were both aware of her thunder fears and neither were the type to tease her about it. She quickly shook her head.

"No, go on and join Calmwind and Bonesnap. I'm about done with my duties today anyway, so I'll be able to sleep soon." she responded, feeling slightly guilty that she wasn't being fully honest. While she was nearly finished with her duties, she didn't plan on sleeping yet. She wanted to talk to Roseear a bit before she settled down for bed, but wasn't really in the mood for her sister's nosy habits. Daisypaw dipped her head and padded over to Calmwind and Bonesnap, sending one more glance at Lavenderpaw before she followed them off toward the camp entrance.

Once the clan had begun to really disperse, with the patrols well on their way to their destinations, Lavenderpaw weaved her way toward Roseear, who was making her way toward the elder's den, presumably to clear it out so the younger warriors could shelter there rather than sleeping out in the open like they usually did. "Roseear, can we talk?" Lavenderpaw called softly. The golden tabby's ears perked at the sound of her name, and she turned her attention to the young apprentice approaching her.

"Of course, Lavenderpaw, what is it?" she questioned, tone kind and curious. Lavenderpaw hesitated, wondering if she should be so bold as to question the temporary deputy on her odd behavior at the clan meeting, before deciding that it was important for her to make sure that she looked out for her clanmates' well being, whether it be physical health symptoms or strange behavior.

"You seemed a little... Upset during the meeting. I thought it was odd that you had nothing to say about it until Mockingstar left." she noted. Roseear instantly tensed up at the sound of the leader's name, and she looked off in another direction, not wanting to meet the young medicine cat's eye.

"It's nothing for you to worry about, Lavenderpaw, I just didn't want to cause a scene." she responded, previous warm tone fading to guarded monotone.

"It just doesn't seem like you, is all." Lavenderpaw insisted. Roseear shifted uncomfortably, looking around as if for an escape. Lavenderpaw decided she might need to try a different tactic, one to show Roseear that she could trust her with whatever was clearly bothering her.

"I understand, you know. It's hard to talk back to him. He just leads the conversation around and around in circles until you're exhausted and give in. I wouldn't want to be deputy under him, I don't even really want to be his medicine cat." she admitted. Roseear's ear twitched a bit, and she stopped looking around for an exit. She still didn't turn her gaze fully to the small medicine cat, though.

"Oh? Surely his temper can't put you off that much." she murmured. Lavenderpaw could tell she was trying to keep her tone carefully disinterested, and it fascinated the young she-cat. Roseear surely knew more than she was letting on, whatever it might be.

"I don't know if he's so trustworthy. Honestly..." Lavenderpaw hesitated for a moment, unsure if she should voice her fears aloud before deciding that she was tired of feeling dishonest due to Mockingstar or Glimmerwind ordering her around to be quiet about everything. "I think he's very malicious, more so than even our clan-mates would like to believe. Those cats on the trip... I'm not sure if he wants them to return. Or rather, he might not care whether they do or not." she confided.

Roseear did turn her head at that, eyes wide in surprise. "You-" she began, before quickly cutting herself off quickly as if realizing that she shouldn't speak aloud. Lavenderpaw leaned toward her, ears perked in curiosity.

"I...?" she asked. Roseear shook her head, hopping to her paws.

"Another hunting patrol should be sent out. How about the two of us head out? I can help give you some hunting pointers, I'm sure those get lost in the shuffle of all your other duties. You still need to know the basics, right?" she asked, quite abruptly in Lavenderpaw's opinion. The black she-cat hesitated, sending a glance up toward the dark clouds that were beginning to gather above camp, before quickly shaking her fur out in an attempt to hide the shiver crawling down her spine at the thought of storms.

"...We can. Let me go ask Glimmerwind." she decided, turning away from Roseear and bounding off toward the medicine cat den, grabbing the moss she had gathered on the way. She quickly stepped into the den, seeing that her mentor was settling into her nest, slightly troubled look on her face. Lavenderpaw padded over and set the ball of moss in front of her, noticing the golden she-cat straightened up quickly at her presence.

"I'm glad to see you're back, were you here for Mockingstar's announcement?" she questioned. Lavenderpaw nodded.

"Yeah, I actually was just talking to Roseear about it. I think she'll be a good deputy, don't you?" she asked. Glimmerwind hesitated.

"My sister wouldn't be a bad leader, I don't know if her style will mesh with Mockingstar's though." she decided, seeming to choose her words carefully. Lavenderpaw nodded in agreement, feeling it was a fair enough assessment.

"Anyway, she offered to take me out hunting. Can I go?"

"You want to go? It's going to start pouring any moment!" Glimmerwind reminded her. Lavenderpaw shifted awkwardly on her paws.

"Well... I need to get used to storms. I'm young, I'll see countless storms in the future, and I need to be ready to work through them. So..." she trailed off. Glimmerwind looked fairly concerned.

"I don't disagree with that, but it seems very sudden for you..." she pointed out. Lavenderpaw glanced down at her paws, feeling awkward and embarrassed. She wasn't sure if Roseear wanted Glimmerwind knowing what they were talking about, and she wasn't sure Glimmerwind would let her go if she knew the pair had been discussing Mockingstar and a potential disapproval of his actions.

"...Roseear just seems kind of out of it. I want to make sure she's okay, is all." she admitted. Glimmerwind's eyes widened before she quickly tried to mask her emotions, something that drove Lavenderpaw mad. The golden medicine cat looked at her own paws for a moment before she looked back to her apprentice.

"...You may go, if you wish. But I would like for you to tell me what's wrong with Roseear, if anything is." she ordered softly. Lavenderpaw dipped her head and turned quickly back toward the den entrance, when she heard her mentor speak again. "Be careful."

Lavenderpaw shivered as she wondered what her mentor could mean by that.

* * *

Lavenderpaw followed Roseear down the slope, sending another wary glance toward the sky as they went. Roseear didn't seem to be paying any attention to her, and her gaze was focused forward as she walked. Lavenderpaw felt a bit odd to be walking with the new temporary deputy, especially with no other apprentices present, but she tried to brush it off. They weren't out here for a hunt, not really. Roseear clearly had something she wanted to say, away from where it could be heard and gossiped about back in camp.

Roseear led Lavenderpaw quietly along the river, keeping her eyes glued forward and remaining eerily silent. Maybe not eerie in normal circumstances, to be fair, but with the young medicine cat already being on edge from the approaching storm, she couldn't say that she felt comfortable or safe. Roseear seemed to be in her own world, completely focused on the ground ahead of her as she led the way. Lavenderpaw assumed they would stop once they reached the training area, but was proven wrong as Roseear continued to walk at an unwavering pace. Lavenderpaw debated on questioning the she-cat, but decided against it. She might spook the she-cat, either by seeming over-eager or by the fear that would come from her trembling voice as thunder sounded off in the distance.

Wherever they were going, Lavenderpaw hoped there would be some form of shelter there. She could hear the Forbidden Falls off in the distance, and wondered if they were going there, when she noted that Roseear didn't take the shallow crossing to get to the area where the climbing path for Star Mountains were. Where else could they be going?  _Star-Cavern._ Lavenderpaw was almost startled by the thought of it, despite knowing full well that the cavern was one of the only areas of note at this part of the territory. She was surprised even more when that turned out not to be the case, as Roseear stopped a good few fox-lengths from the hill that led up to Star-cavern, and brushed into a small cave in the mountain wall. It was wide enough for two cats to lay snugly in, but not useful for much else. Roseear settled into the little area, sitting closer to the entrance while Lavenderpaw burrowed back as far as she could, hearing thunder boom again.

"I've known Mockingstar for a long time." Roseear noted. Lavenderpaw was almost startled, mostly by how fast and high Roseear's speech was. The she-cat was clearly distressed even by the slightest mention of his name.

"He was your mentor, wasn't he?" Lavenderpaw asked, tone as gentle as possible. Roseear nodded in affirmative, before crouching down suddenly and looking very small.

"At first, he was just really obnoxious and rude to me, like he is with everyone else... But after a while, when he realized how fast of a learner I was and that I enjoyed taking charge of the other apprentices when we had group duties... I don't know what exactly it was, but... He started being really creepy and obsessive over me." she recounted softly.

"It wasn't like he did big things, he wasn't very outward with how attentive he was with me. But I could tell, because he started insisting that we train alone, especially after Darkfire became a warrior. He was... Let's say, I was Moonpaw and Darkfire was Bearpaw. We were apprentices at the same time, but there was a decent age gap between us, so he became a warrior much faster. But Darkfire was mentored by my mother, so she was really interested in training with us or with my brother and sister, especially after Ravenpaw died so soon into our apprenticeship. She was protective, and I don't think Mockingstar appreciated that.

"But then like... Threeish moons into my apprenticeship... I believe I was around your age, at least. Mockingstar asked me to be his mate... He tried to frame it like, it wouldn't be official until after I received my warrior name, so it wasn't wrong but... It felt wrong. It felt really gross, and it made me very uncomfortable. Especially with how he seemed to be pushy about it. Not directly, he didn't demand for me to be his mate, but he always tried to bring up how accomplished he was or how lucky a tom would be to become my mate in the most flirty way. It just... I didn't like it, but I didn't feel like I could tell anyone either. It was... Scary to me. After I became a warrior, I avoided him as much as I could, and even asked my father not to place me on patrols with him. I told he that it made me feel like an apprentice, and I wanted space to be a warrior, so he gave it to me.

"I guess Mockingstar eventually got the hint, because he started going for Violetscar instead after a while. Which... Made me wonder what the similarities were. I think he just wanted me or Violetscar because our fathers were the leader and deputy, and Violetscar helped him a lot more with his goal than I did. He became leader because Scarstar trusted the tom his only daughter was with, and he thought he would take care of the clan because nobody could say he was a bad warrior, just kind of rude. I... I always wonder what would have happened if I told Sparrowear what was happening with Mockingstar when he was my mentor, but it's too late now. What would anyone say? He's the clan leader, nobody can punish him at this point. Glimmerwind blew our last chance by reaffirming Scarstar's choice when it was time for Mockingstar to go get his nine lives."

As Roseear came to an end with her story, Lavenderpaw couldn't help but feel appalled. Mockingstar had been trying to take a mate that young? Lavenderpaw couldn't help but feel that was very wrong, especially given the mentor-apprentice relationship that should have remained professional between them. If Roseear hadn't been mature enough to see that glaring issues with Mockingstar's proposal, things could have worked out much worse than they had, especially with Mockingstar's current mate being so much younger than him.

"Was Violetscar an apprentice with Mockingstar?" Lavenderpaw asked, feeling concern over the idea of the kind she-cat being taken advantage of. She did adore the leader to a seemingly unnatural degree, which Lavenderpaw supposed could be normal for a cat in love, but she wasn't so sure with Roseear's new information.

"No. Violetscar was a warrior for a few moons before Mockingstar even paid her any mind. She was very awkward and shy back then. Scarstar tried to shelter her a lot, and would get upset with her mentor if he felt Reedtail was pushing her too hard. The only cat she ever really got close to was Snowfrost, and I think they had a falling out after the whole fiasco with Tansynose having mothered kits from two mates. So... She went on patrol with Mockingstar one day, and they've been inseparable ever since. That would have been... Two, three Greenleafs ago? I don't really know for sure. But they've been together way longer than they've had their kits." Roseear replied. Lavenderpaw nodded, feeling only slightly better about the situation.

"But he made you deputy now... Does he... I mean, you said that he got the hint, but..." Lavenderpaw trailed off, mind flickering back to Bearpaw and telling him that she didn't have any romantic interest in him. The poor tom had seemed so deflated, but he had said he would respect her wishes. Mockingstar didn't seem the type to respect anyone's wishes or feelings, and it really made Lavenderpaw worry for the golden she-cat.

"I don't know." Roseear admitted. "I still feel him staring at me sometimes... And honestly, I'm still afraid to speak to him. He's very... Odd around me. He over-praises me still, if he finds a reason to. Like, I can take a compliment, but he will go so overboard with how perfect and amazing I am at hunting or patrolling or whatever, even with basic things that aren't a big deal. It makes me feel like he's still trying to win me over, even though he has Violetscar and his kits now. And with how he is toward Darkfire..." Roseear murmured. Lavenderpaw's ears pricked.

"With Darkfire?" she asked. Roseear suddenly looked embarrassed, as if she'd said too much, but quickly composed herself and sighed, as if in defeat.

"I guess if I'm bearing my soul to you about this whole thing, you should know the details. Back when we were apprentices, Darkfire and I were... Close. Like, Doeeye was sure we would become mates when I was old enough. Kind of like Wolfclaw and Turtleshell, we were pretty inseparable apprentices. Ravenpaw really adored Darkfire, so I ended up becoming the third member of their little party, and after Ravenpaw died... Darkfire and I got really close during our grieving. And Mockingshadow ALWAYS hated it, I could tell even before he told me he liked me that he despised one of my best friends.

"And then... It was bad timing on Darkfire's part, I guess. He told me he loved me on the same day that Mockingstar asked me to be his mate. And I told you he wasn't directly pushy about it, but... That wasn't completely true. That first day, when I rejected him, he seemed really demanding about why not and stuff. I guess he realized he was overly aggressive when I ran off, and that's why he tried to be sneakier with his later attempts at flirting. But I was already not in my right mind, I was freaked out and a complete nervous wreck, and then with Darkfire's feelings on top of it... I snapped at him. I was... Really cruel in my rejection, because I was scared of him getting pushy. I insulted him and acted disgusted that he would even consider asking.

"I... Really hurt him with that. He wasn't pushy, he just seemed... Hurt. I feel really bad about it, because... You know, I did like him then. He was really awkward but... Kinda sweet. But I remember Mockingstar asking why we weren't friends, and I think he heard from Darkfire's mother what happened. And his hatred for Darkfire really amped up when he realized that I knew that Darkfire liked me. He was really weird, like telling me that Darkfire was a trouble-maker who shouldn't be asking apprentices to become his mate. Like he hadn't just asked an apprentice to become his mate. At least Darkfire was a newly made warrior around my age, Mockingstar was already a senior warrior by then. Not that I ever brought it up, but... Yeah." Roseear explained.

Lavenderpaw sat, processing what Roseear had told her for a long moment. The idea of Roseear and Darkfire as a potential pair was strange to her, given their reputations for wanting to rip each others' throats out. But she supposed it explained why the pair WERE so hostile toward each other. It also explained why Roseear had still not chosen a mate, and possibly why she was always hanging around she-cats. Lavenderpaw wouldn't know what to do if she had so much drama in such a short amount of time with a pair of toms, but it seemed awfully exhausting. After all, she still felt bad for rejecting Bearpaw, and that was a fairly quick and painless issue compared to what Roseear was explaining with her former mentor and den-mate.

"So... Do you think that's why Darkfire was sent off? Because Mockingstar wanted him gone?" Lavenderpaw asked, snapping the sadly reminiscing she-cat out of her short daze. Roseear snorted, seeming a bit angry.

"Oh, definitely. EVERYONE Mockingstar chose was because he didn't care about them, and wanted them gone for whatever reason." she growled. Lavenderpaw's ears flattened a bit, thinking of the apprentices who had not done anything wrong, or at least who didn't seem like they could have done anything against the leader.

"Everyone?" she asked, feeling almost protective of her den-mates. Roseear glanced at her, and her eyes softened a bit.

"Maybe not everyone. The apprentices definitely were more victims of circumstance. But you better believe that Mockingstar chose Shadowwhispers, Darkfire, Silverheart, and Hazelflight all based on them being 'troublemakers', at least in his eyes. He definitely took that dream and ran with it when he realized he could use it to rid the clan of at least some cats he didn't want around anymore." she noted. Lavenderpaw felt sick to her stomach. The idea of her visions being twisted to potentially send some cats that the leader simply felt jealous of or disagreed with was horrifying. But on the same note...

"He did seem kind of... Dismissive, when I was telling him about my dream." Lavenderpaw agreed softly. Roseear growled.

"I thought he must have heard that dream from you. I doubted Glimmerwind would have told him all the details. She knows he wouldn't care about it."

"Why wouldn't he care about it?" Lavenderpaw asked, surprised by the assertion, and a bit stung and guilty feeling that she and her full honesty might be the reason why the journey was happening.

"Because he doesn't believe in StarClan, of course. Glimmerwind knows it, and so do I." Roseear responded, sounding a bit surprised that she had to explain it. Lavenderpaw felt her blood run cold at that, eyes wide with surprise. Roseear cocked her head. "She... She didn't tell you? Her apprentice, who would have to deal with his mess!?" she asked, seeming to get more and more angry as the realization seeped in. Lavenderpaw looked down at her paws, feeling cold in the pit of her stomach.

"No... She just told me to leave interactions with him to her." she replied, hearing the hurt in her own voice and feeling more upset that she was completely unable to hide it. She felt exposed, like a fool... She had thought that Glimmerwind was protective, motherly, and honest with her... But now, it felt like she was just putting on a good front so she didn't have to tell her what was going on. Everything Glimmerwind had done seemed different, put into context... Especially all the journey planning that Lavenderpaw had been left out of, and the lies that she had told about who had the dream and the separation of Lavenderpaw from certain duties.

"I can't believe her! So obsessed with saving her own pelt, she wouldn't even give you that warning! What was she going to do when she retired or died? Just leave you with him to deal with alone, not knowing his lack of belief?" Roseear growled, seemingly not noticing how upset Lavenderpaw was in the midst of her own anger.

"...She hoped he would die before I had to deal with it." Lavenderpaw corrected her. Roseear paused, seeming startled by the statement, turning her eyes to the young apprentice.

"W-What?" she asked. Lavenderpaw looked to the older she-cat coldly.

"Mockingstar doesn't believe in StarClan, so he ONLY has one life to lose. They can't give those nine lives to a cat who doesn't believe in StarClan, you know that right?" she asked, cocking her head to the side. Roseear looked stunned, then amazed.

"I... I somehow totally missed that. I was so angry that Glimmerwind went through with it, that I just laid around feeling sorry for the fact that I would never be rid of him... I didn't think about the lives not being passed to him. I feel so stupid..." she whispered. Lavenderpaw looked again to her paws.

"Glimmerwind decided that she felt better about lying to me and having the leader die with nobody else finding out that she let it slide, than being honest with me in case something out of our control happened and, like you suggested, I would be left with dealing with him alone. She decided keeping her secret was more important than being honest with her apprentice... We aren't supposed to hide things like that from each other! I... I've thought she's been really shady recently, but I thought it was just her being upset about the stubbornness of Mockingstar and the journey... I can't believe her." Lavenderpaw hissed, feeling her body shake with unfamiliar rage.

"I've felt like I've lied a lot recently... And I haven't liked it. I even consider doing it on my own now, and I NEVER used to feel like that. But now... I've been lying to cover things up FOR HER AND MOCKINGSTAR. And they don't even have the decency to tell me what I'm covering up! I..." Lavenderpaw trembled, crouching down as she heard thunder crash outside, seemingly very close to them. She had nearly forgotten the storm in the rush of their conversation, and even now that she was hearing it upon them... She somehow was too focused on her own pain to care. Her mentor, her HERO... Glimmerwind had lied repeatedly, and didn't even trust her with the most important information that any medicine cat would need to know. She had thought in becoming a medicine cat, that her heart would never break... And yet here she was.

"Lavenderpaw..." Roseear whispered, voice soft as she seemed to realize just how upset the younger she-cat was. She pressed closer to her side and pressed her muzzle between the she-cat's ears, seemingly maternal despite never having mothered a litter.

"I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have been the one to tell you this." she apologized. Lavenderpaw shook her head, pulling her head back to look into the she-cat's face with fiery amber eyes. She had never felt so angry in her life, but she was still aware enough that she didn't want an unrelated cat to feel responsible for her pain.

"No, thank you for telling me. I never would have known all of this if it wasn't for you. It's not your fault that your sister is a liar." she responded. Roseear leaned back, shocked and suddenly uncomfortable looking.

"I suppose not... But you probably shouldn't talk about your mentor that way. She may have lied, but she's still very fond of you." she pointed out, suddenly seeming to realize just how impacted Lavenderpaw was. The black she-cat shook her head.

"Maybe not, but she also shouldn't have lied to me for my entire apprenticeship." she snapped.

"...This is going to be the Tansynose fiasco all over again... Don't be like Pikefang, Lavenderpaw. Being bitter toward Glimmerwind and publicly embarrassing her is only going to cause a bigger rift in the clan than there already is. At least now it's mostly the clan against Mockingstar, with a very few being his real followers. We can't shatter the clan over this, especially not with the group gone." Roseear insisted, looking desperate. Lavenderpaw huffed.

"So we should just let Glimmerwind get away with lying to EVERYONE?" she demanded. Roseear hesitated.

"...I don't think we should do that either. I just think we should keep this between us, until the cats come back from the journey. Maybe consult with StarClan? I don't know, Lavenderpaw, I just know that we can't let the clan get more divided than it already is. You can say something to Glimmerwind if you want, but we need to keep this private until we have a better idea of what to do. Promise me that much?"

"...Will you promise me that you'll take care of the clan, as much as you can, serving as Mockingstar's deputy?"

"Of course. You don't even need me to promise that, I planned on that from the beginning."

"...Then I'll keep it quiet until we speak with StarClan. But only if you promise to never lie to me, and keep me up to date with what you know. I'll do the same. Deal?"

"Of course, Lavenderpaw, thank you."

"Right... Can we have more of these 'hunting lessons?' I'd like to come back out here in the next few days, specifically to get in touch with StarClan." Lavenderpaw noted. Roseear nodded.

"Of course we can. We should probably try and get some hunting done. It's already starting to rain, and we better get back with prey or else everyone will be suspicious."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very dialogue heavy chapter, but I wanted to give an update on what was happening back home.
> 
> For those who only wanted to read the summary due to the top warning:  
> Lavenderpaw (Lav) is afraid of storms, and one is approaching at the star. There is a meeting where Mockingstar names Roseear his temporary deputy, despite complaints from Calmwind and Softpelt. Lav sees that Roseear is uncomfortable, and questions her on it. After obtaining permission from Glimmerwind, Lav and Roseear leave camp and visit a small cave near Star-Cavern to talk. Roseear mentions how Mockingstar treated her inappropriately during her apprenticeship and made her uncomfortable. She adds that Darkfire once had feelings for her, but she took out her anger toward Mockingstar on him when he confessed those feelings, and regrets hurting him and ruining their relationship over it. She also shares suspicions that the journey cats were chosen due to Mockingstar's dislike of them. She also tells Lav that he is not a believer in StarClan, and Glimmerwind knew. Lav is hurt by the realization that she's been lied to by her mentor, and asks Roseear to meet with her so they can figure out what to do about Mockingstar and the situation if it gets worse, and they agree to meet again in the coming days.


	15. Moon - Somber Storms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get real.

Moonpaw yawned as she crawled into the little cave that was dug into the side of the cliff. It wasn't a huge area, but it was big enough for them all to fit in, so long as they were squeezed closely together. Moonpaw couldn't say she minded the idea, as a cold rain had begun around sunset. Her stomach rumbled in hunger, but she figured that being in a warm and dry place with an empty belly was better than being in the cold rain with a hungry belly. She made her way toward the back of the cave, snuggling into her father's side as he watched the others file in as well.

Once the entire group had filed in, Shadowwhispers relaxed, glancing toward the shivering apprentices at his side. He gave them a sympathetic look, lightly grooming his daughter's ears. "Try to get dry, guys. We can't really cope with you getting sick out here." he pointed out. Moonpaw was happy enough to comply with that, as she quickly began to work at her fur, snuggling into her father's side. She vaguely listened as Shadowwhispers and the warriors discussed what they would be doing in the morning, but wasn't very interested in the planning until she heard the mention of hunting.

"We haven't eaten since this morning. We'll need to find food tomorrow, or else we could starve." Hazelflight pointed out.

"I'm more concerned with finding more water." Darkfire argued.

"We'll need both." Shadowwhispers interrupted. "We'll get up early to look for some food. Next water source we find will make a good resting area, so we can catch up on any extra sleep we need then." he added decisively.

"Fair enough. We should probably get to sleep then." Hazelflight noted, shifting from her crouch to a more comfortable sleeping position. Shadowwhispers nodded, sending a glance toward the cave entrance.

"Yeah." he agreed half-heartedly. Moonpaw glanced up at her father curiously.

"Is something wrong?" she asked. Shadowwhispers looked very somber, especially when compared to his generally optimistic attitude.

"It's raining harder now. That's not good." he grunted. Moonpaw sent a glance toward the entrance as well.

"Yeah... It'll probably be really slippery."

"Exactly what I'm afraid of." Shadowwhispers agreed, voice giving away just how stressed the large tom felt. Moonpaw glanced up at him again, feeling somewhat frightened by her father's lack of confidence.

"We'll be okay, won't we? We can't get trapped here." she asked, voice soft with fear. Shadowwhispers instantly wrapped his tail around his daughter, pressing his muzzle against the top of her head in a protective gesture.

"Of course we will, Moonpaw. So long as we keep our guards up and stay ready for anything." he promised. Moonpaw nodded, settling closer to her father. She was glad in that moment that he was there, feeling comforted by his presence. While she liked Darkfire fine as a mentor, he was not exactly comforting with his blunt observations. "Now, try to get some sleep. You'll need to get up early in the morning, we need to be ready." he pointed out. Despite herself, Moonpaw felt a yawn escape her jaws.

They had been journeying for a long time, and her paws ached. Her belly was rumbling with hunger, and she was honestly still a bit cold from being rained on. She had never missed home as much as she did now, laying in a cave several days away. She wished she was snuggled between Bluepaw and Mothpaw's nests, chatting about what their mentors had taught them that day. She even wishes she was stuck on night hunting, or a boring border patrol. Home seemed really nice at this point.

Moonpaw wasn't sure when it happened, but eventually her thoughts faded into dreams.

* * *

Moonpaw carefully placed her paws as the group again worked on scaling the side of the mountain. She felt weary and tired, but also anxious of the still somewhat slippery ledges that they were currently walking along. She shivered a bit as she remembered glancing down, when she had first left the cave, and seeing nothing but heavy fog and no ground far below them. She hated the height, and wished that she could at least see what was below them, even if it was incredibly far down. She had known on the starting path that it was the lake, but now? She wasn't sure. Maybe they had come fully around and gotten back to the same lake-side of the mountain, maybe they were above rocks. Either way, it was not very comforting. Death either way.

Moonpaw shivered at her morbid thoughts, trying to shake them away. Now was not the time to be worrying over death, whether Shadowwhispers' words the previous night were sticking or not. She felt Darkfire's nose on the end of her tail, drawing her attention to the dark tom.

"You alright? You haven't caught cold, have you?" he questioned. Moonpaw glanced back at him, confused for a moment, until she realized that he must have seen her shiver. She quickly shook her head and turned back to facing forward, walking at a more brisk, even pace.

"I'm fine, just a bit tired." she responded. Darkfire nipped at her tail tip.

"Slow down. Remember, it's still slippery." he scolded. Moonpaw instantly dropped back to her slower pace, feeling her tail curl closer to her leg to avoid getting another nip. Darkfire was clearly not intending to be rough, just stern, but her tail was sensitive!

"Easy on the tail, I'd rather not injure it." she complained. Darkfire snorted.

"At least you aren't Stagpelt, he got his taken off it was so bad." he replied. Moonpaw shivered a bit at the thought of the tom. Stagpelt was nice enough, even if they weren't very close, so she didn't particularly like to think of the poor tom in such pain.

"Don't scare her." Bearpaw called, voice sympathetic.

"She shouldn't be complaining then. Things could always be worse than a little nip on the tail to keep her focused." Darkfire responded.

"Things seem to be looking up, though. It's been warming up, and now that sun-high's here it should only get warmer. Plus, the path is getting wide!" Bearpaw added. Moonpaw glanced at the path below her paws, noting that Bearpaw was correct. It was widening, even if it was still slippery. She purred a little at the realization.

"Hopefully we'll find somewhere to hunt soon." she murmured, mouth watering at the thought of a juicy mouse. She was starving! She glanced back forward, toward the pair who had pretty much become the designated hunters. Applepaw would surely be able to find and catch anything that was around, given he had the space to do so, and Hazelflight was pretty amazing as well.

"We will, don't worry." Applepaw agreed easily, having been listening in despite not speaking before that point. He had seemed fairly quiet since they had started walking down this path, so Moonpaw was almost startled by the sound of his voice. She purred in spite of herself, eager to find somewhere to hunt if Applepaw felt so confident. Maybe she could follow him, and he could show her how to put his tips in proper action! She had always preferred to learn by observation, which was fortunate given Darkfire's teaching style being a very brief explanation before throwing her into the fire.

"Ask and you shall receive!" Hazelflight laughed, pausing ahead of them. Once the entire group had stopped, she called back toward Shadowwhispers, "Found a ledge up ahead! We should be able to get something to eat there!"

"Hopefully there will be something to drink as well." Darkfire murmured.

"I hope so too, it'll mean prey is more likely. They need to drink as well." Applepaw added. Hazelflight purred loudly ahead of them, beginning to walk again at a much more brisk pace. Applepaw seemed to keep up pretty well with his mentor, but Moonpaw kept in mind that she needed to be slower or her mentor would bite her tail over and over again. She felt a brief flash of jealousy, wishing her mentor was more easygoing like Hazelflight.

That jealousy would be almost immediately regretted.

Suddenly, Hazelflight let out a screech of startled fear as the earth beneath her crumbled. Moonpaw couldn't see very well, but she heard the scrabble of claws, which she assumed was Hazelflight trying to get her footing back, but then saw the she-cat falling beneath them. Her heart nearly stopped at the sight of the she-cat rolling through the air, only to begin pounding much to hard and loud in her ears when Hazelflight managed to snag a ledge a couple fox-lengths beneath them. Moonpaw felt frozen as she watched the young warrior cry out in pain and fear, clinging desperately to her hold.

Darkfire cursed from behind her, and Moonpaw could hear him shifting around. She couldn't tear her eyes away from Hazelflight, but she could tell enough that Darkfire was likely looking around and considering their options. It was a Darkfire thing to do... Moonpaw wished that fact was enough to comfort her. And maybe it would have been, had she not seen Shadowwhispers leaping down toward Hazelflight.

The massive tom was balanced seemingly precariously on a piece of rock that seemed to jut out below their path. Moonpaw's heart was beating too fast, it felt like a monster sprinting down the Thunderpath. She managed to tear her eyes from the cats beneath them to look desperately to her mentor, who was now focused on Shadowwhispers.

"What are we going to do?" she asked, barely hearing her own voice over the pounding in her ears. Darkfire didn't look at her, keeping his eyes focused on Shadowwhispers, who was making his way steadily toward Hazelflight.

"Watch and hope. I can't do anything with my leg the way it is, I could further injure it trying to climb like that. I hurt it getting down to this path, and given how many times I've hit in since this journey began... Shadowwhispers is the only one in any position to help Hazelflight now." Darkfire responded. Moonpaw shook her head, glancing at the other two apprentices, but both toms seemed to be intently focused on their own mentors. Moonpaw trembled, crouching and making herself as small as possible. She felt like a kit, watching and waiting for a dangerous creature to break into the nursery after a nightmare, except this horror was a reality.

Shadowwhispers was directly below Moonpaw now, having almost made it all the way to Hazelflight, being about a cat-length behind her, and just above her level. Moonpaw tried to allow herself to relax when Shadowwhispers' hind leg suddenly slipped when a piece of ledge crumbled away. The tom fell backward, but quickly caught himself, despite seeming to hit his chin very hard. Moonpaw squeaked out a cry of terror, shaking as she watched her father pull himself back up.

"Shadowwhispers!" Hazelflight cried out, clinging to the cliff and staring at the big tom with huge eyes. Hazelflight had always had big eyes, but they now almost seemed to take up her entire face. Her fear was clear, even to the cats high above her. Moonpaw whined and backed up, until her back legs hit Darkfire's fore-paws. The tom rested one paw on top of her back, but it felt more like it was an effort to keep her still than it was to comfort her.

"Hold on!" Shadowwhispers hissed, quickly jumping down to her ledge. Hazelflight's scrabbled at the ledge, nearly slipping completely from it, when Shadowwhispers finally caught her by the scruff as she screeched out in incomprehensible terror. Shadowwhispers grunted as he started to drag her upward, attempting to pull her to the ledge with him. Hazelflight began to babble in fear, her paws scrambling as she tried to find somewhere for her paws to go. Moonpaw could tell she was completely in panic, and her mind flew back to Mothpaw being pulled toward the tree-bridge by Applepaw.

"Please don't let me fall, don't drop me, please-" Hazelflight whimpered, still kicking with her paws to look for anywhere to settle them. Shadowwhispers seemed to be struggling to keep hold of her.

"No..." Applepaw whispered, and Moonpaw could practically hear his heart sinking. "They won't make it."

"They will!" Moonpaw tried to hiss, though her voice was hoarse and terrified. Applepaw didn't respond, didn't have time to.

The ledge fell out from under Shadowwhispers' paws, just as he had managed to get Hazelflight halfway on the ledge with him. There was a choked, startled sound as the pair went crashing down into the foggy depths of nowhere, but nothing clear. Then there was just silence, with the pair now gone. It took Moonpaw a few moments to even fully realize what had happened.

"NO!" she screeched, voice full of complete anguish. She quickly jerked away from Darkfire's paw, which wasn't pressed very firmly on her back, and launched herself downward. She heard a gasp from Darkfire, who was startled by her sudden movement, and then felt his teeth catch her scruff roughly. The tom was clearly not a queen like Calmwind, with his tight grip jerking painfully at her neck. She heard a grunt of effort from the tom behind her as he hauled her back onto the cliff, much more roughly than he was likely intending. He threw her against the wall of the mountain, knocking the wind from her as she felt back onto the path.

"Don't be so reckless, you idiot! Do you think Shadowwhispers would want you to kill yourself for not reason? They're gone, end of discussion!" Darkfire yelled. Moonpaw thought she heard the faintest touch of fear in his voice, but couldn't tell if that was in her head or not. Instead, she let out a whimper and cried out again.

"Shadowwhispers..."

"Hey... It's... Moonpaw, don't-" Applepaw attempted to formulate some comfort, but was clearly to shocked and struggling to process what had happened himself.

"Get moving, Applepaw! We need to get to that ledge now!" Darkfire ordered, his voice rough from his attempts to get the group back into motion. Moonpaw crouched and whined again, in spite of her mentor's attempt. She oddly wanted to wait here for Shadowwhispers to return, surely he could have caught and hauled himself back up in the way he had when trying to get to Hazelflight in the first place.

Instead, she felt Darkfire roughly nudge her forward. "Move, now." he ordered. Moonpaw's paws were moving without her though, as she kept her eyes toward the spot where her father had disappeared as she began to follow after Applepaw, who had apparently decided it was in his best interest to follow the last remaining warrior's orders. She was again stopped by Darkfire, who bit the tip of her tail again, this time a bit more aggressively.

"Pay attention! Mind the gap where Hazelflight fell." he hissed. Moonpaw whined, but faced back forward to see that she had, in fact, reached the spot where Hazelflight had originally fallen. Moonpaw felt sick to her stomach as the scene played again, of Hazelflight crashing against the rocks until she barely managed to catch hold of the ledge. She thought she was going to be sick when she heard her mentor again urge her forward.

Carefully, Moonpaw hopped over the gap in the ledge. She landed safely on the other side, her hind-paws a safe distance ahead of the gap. She looked forward to Applepaw, who was slowly making his way toward the apparent ledge that Hazelflight had seen and tried to hurry to. Moonpaw felt again sick to her stomach as she walked after the tom. She didn't want to get yelled at by Darkfire again, after all, so she knew better than to stay where she was. So she followed Applepaw, in spite of the upset feelings that were pooling in her belly.

She managed to make it to the ledge before she threw up. She wasn't expecting to get sick as she stepped inward, toward the few trees that took up their new safe spot on the cliffs, but she did. She barely made it three steps inward. She couldn't see where anyone else was for a moment, just emptied whatever contents there were in her stomach, which no longer growled with hunger despite it having been a full day since she'd last eaten. When she finished vomiting, she backed up and into the hard shoulder of Bearpaw.

"Hey, easy, easy." Bearpaw soothed quietly, licking between the she-cat's ears. She ducked away from him quickly, giving a wide berth around her throw up as she made her way to the trees, burrowing against one. She didn't want to talk to anyone, she just wanted to sit alone for a while. She pressed her face against the tree and just sat, quietly away from the group for a long time. She didn't hear them saying anything, and was unsure if it was her blocking them out or if it was actual silence for the longest time.

* * *

"Darkfire, are you alright?" Bearpaw asked. Moonpaw sent a glance toward the pair. She wasn't sure how much time had passed, though she knew the sun was no longer at its highest point. She wasn't sure if she had fallen asleep or not, though she thought it likely that she probably had. Darkfire was currently pacing back and forth, eyes focused intently on the ground as he did so. Bearpaw was sitting toward the middle of the clear area, between the cliffs and the trees that Moonpaw was taking cover in. Applepaw was quietly laying at his brother's side, and appeared to be asleep as well, which only made Moonpaw more sure that she had probably slept as well.

"I'm fine." Darkfire barked, though his pelt looked completely frazzled. Moonpaw bitterly thought that it didn't seem fair that the cat who had been so rude to her immediately after losing her father should be the one looking so ragged, before feeling guilt set into her stomach. Darkfire likely did feel grief for the losses, but was also now the new leader of their group, given Shadowwhispers was no longer there to do it. Besides, she had nearly killed herself trying to...

What had she been trying to do? There was no way that she could have saved the cats after they fell into oblivion. As Darkfire had said, Shadowwhispers wouldn't have wanted her to kill herself over something so stupid. She supposed that if she was going to let her emotions get the best of her, then she would need to expect Darkfire or someone to be the voice of reason and make sure nothing happened. Besides, Darkfire had made the promise to return her safely to her mother in the end, and he was still keeping that. Perhaps more so now that her father was gone than he had been before.

"What are we going to do? Should we hunt now? We... We have plenty of daylight to keep moving." Bearpaw pointed out, sending a weary glance back toward the path where they had lost their other two warriors. Darkfire quickly shook his head, finally stopping in his incessant pacing.

"No, we'll be staying here for the night. Early or not, I think we all deserve a bit of a rest." he responded firmly. He sent a glance toward Applepaw, who Moonpaw now felt completely sure was asleep. "We do need to get something to eat, though. I told Moonpaw off for nearly jumping to her death, it wouldn't do us much better to starve."

"I'll go." Bearpaw offered. Darkfire sent a skeptical look toward the larger apprentice.

"You? But Applepaw is the best hunter here, that's even less debatable with Hazelflight gone." he pointed out. Bearpaw sent a protective look down at his brother.

"Applepaw... Applepaw had a crush on Hazelflight. I'm sure he's taking this really hard." he responded bluntly. Moonpaw was a bit surprised to hear that, as Darkfire also seemed to be, but Moonpaw doubted her felt the twinge of jealousy she did, for reasons she wasn't entirely sure about.

"Oh... Well." Darkfire responded lamely, seeming almost embarrassed by the conversation. Moonpaw would have found it comical if she didn't feel so empty and sad by the fact that it was occurring due to the deaths of two of her kin.

"So I'll go hunting. If we really need it... We can see how he's feeling later." Bearpaw replied, standing. Moonpaw envied how calm the tom appeared to be, as if he hadn't just lost a mentor as well. Maybe it was because he had his brother with him...  _Would I be able to keep so calm if Mothpaw or Silverheart were here?_ she wondered, feeling another intense longing for home and family.

"I'll come with you, then." Darkfire agreed. He sent another glance toward Applepaw, before leaning down and nudging the tom. Bearpaw pushed Darkfire away, and Moonpaw again saw a flash of protectiveness on the brown tabby's face.

"Hey, let him sleep." he hissed, as Applepaw shifted uncomfortable and let out a strangled whimper as he shifted positions. Darkfire looked to Bearpaw with a confused look.

"You want to just leave him here? To wake up and realize everyone is gone, after what we all just witnessed?" he asked. Moonpaw shifted from her curled up position to one that was more akin to a crouch.

"I'm still here." she called softly. Darkfire and Bearpaw both turned their attention to her, seeming almost as if they had forgotten about her. "I'll tell him where you are if he wakes up." she added, not giving them time to speak before she offered. Bearpaw gave her a grateful look as he stood, taking a few steps toward her.

"Thank you, Moonpaw. The pair of you should keep an eye on each other while we're gone, okay?" he purred. Moonpaw nodded wearily, looking down at her paws to indicate she was already done with the conversation. The idea of actually speaking felt exhausting, even with the little bit she had just offered. To his credit, Bearpaw didn't push her and instead turned his attention back to Darkfire.

"We should get a move on, if we're worried about having to get two hunting trips done. Want to give it some time so that Applepaw can go out again before dark if we need him to." he pointed out. Darkfire dipped his head, stepping toward the trees. He sent a single glance toward his apprentice before he kept going.

"Take care, Moonpaw. We'll return soon."

Once the pair had gone, Moonpaw settled back against the tree, feeling a strange comfort from it. The tree was huge and stable, rooted to the ground in a way that would not easily be broken. Moonpaw wished she could feel that secure right now, that she could wake up and find Shadowwhispers curled against her. That the pair falling into the foggy depths was all just a vivid, horrifying nightmare.

It wasn't a comforting enough thought, though. She was too sure that it was all real, that her father was gone, that Hazelflight was gone. Both of them were such kind warriors, and so well liked by the clan... And now they were gone. Shadowwhispers would not be there when Moonpaw received her warrior name, nor when she found her own mate and had kits. He hadn't even watched Silverheart, his elder daughter, have kits yet! It didn't seem very fair to her, and that wasn't even thinking about Calmwind, who would now have to spend her remaining moons alone like her sister, Mothpetal. All of it made Moonpaw's heart feel very heavy.

The white she-cat quickly pushed herself to her falls, nearly falling before she managed to regain her balance. She pulled away from the tree, walking quietly into the clear area where Applepaw still lay resting. She made her way slowly over to the ginger tom, sitting quietly at his side in the way Bearpaw had been earlier. She felt a gnawing pain somewhere in her heart, and identified it tentatively as loneliness, despite the fact that she was still in the company of another cat.

She remembered Bearpaw standing protectively over her brother, and wished that there was anyone here to do so for her. She selfishly wished Silverheart had come instead of Hazelflight, and was here to comfort her over their father, or at least sit with her through the pain as Bearpaw had. But then the horrifying image of Silverheart in Hazelflight's place filled her mind, and the idea of her gray felt disappearing in the fog made her almost get sick again.

She suddenly felt a stirring at her side, and turned her attention back to Applepaw. He was beginning to wake up, or maybe burrowing more into her side for warmth or comfort. Moonpaw honestly wasn't entirely sure which, at least until the ginger tom opened his eyes. Once she saw that, she quickly straightened up and got ready for whatever conversation they were about to have.

"Morning, Applepaw. Sleep well?"


	16. Apple - Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Applepaw comforts Moonpaw. They manage to relax.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uploading this with the last chapter because it came out shorter than expected, and this one is just a bit longer. So, two for one, I guess! XD

"Moonpaw?" Applepaw asked, feeling tired and groggy as he forced himself to sit up. The white she-cat watched him with an almost hollow expression, seeming not to feel very well either. Applepaw sent a glance around their temporary camp, and felt his heart jump up in pace as he realized he was alone with the younger apprentice. "What happened to the others? Where are they?" he demanded, his voice sounding too high even in his own ears.

"They went hunting." Moonpaw replied simply. Applepaw turned his gaze back to her, green eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Why would they go off hunting without me?" he demanded, still feeling stressed and uncomfortable with the idea of being alone. Moonpaw shrugged and crouched down, her eyes not meeting his as they remained on her paws.

"Bearpaw wanted to let you rest. He said you were too upset to hunt anyway." she answered. Applepaw studied the she-cat for a moment, noting that she sounded not sad, but pathetically empty. He felt a bit sad for the young she-cat, remembering that both cats lost were her kin, one of whom was her father. He had never known his own father, but he imagined it would hurt similarly to how much it would to lose his mother. He didn't even want to think about the pain Firefoot's death would bring him, especially one where he couldn't retrieve her body for a proper burial.

"Can I lay with you?" he asked, deciding that the she-cat had likely been alone since she dragged herself off to the tree where he had last seen her before dozing off. Moonpaw looked confused for a moment, before shrugging and shifting to a more comfortable position with her paws folded beneath her. Applepaw settled down easily at her side, and began to groom her silently. It felt like sharing tongues back at camp, though that usually involved a lot more gossip. What he wouldn't give to have Daisypaw, in all her annoying gossipy glory, there at that moment.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, between licks. He tried to keep his tone as light as possible, though he wasn't quite sure how to start this conversation anyway. This whole comforting thing was much more up Wolfclaw's territory, or really anyone else but his. Moonpaw shifted, pulling her paws out from under her, and rested her head on them.

"Alone." she admitted, rather bluntly in Applepaw's opinion. He was honestly somewhat taken aback by it, partly because he was feeling the same way without Bearpaw, and partly because she had the guts to admit it out loud.

"You've got me." he offered, admittedly rather awkwardly. Moonpaw didn't seem very appeased by that answer.

"You've got Bearpaw." she responded.

"What about Darkfire? He's your mentor." Applepaw pointed out.

"Darkfire isn't exactly my father." she shot back.

"Nobody can be your father. We kind of have to take what we can get in this situation."

"And you get your brother." Moonpaw snapped bitterly, shifting away from him so their pelts no longer touched. Applepaw realized that they were going nowhere fast, and that he actually appeared to be making things worse rather than better. Time to try another approach. 

"Look, I'm sorry you don't have any kin out here. But we knew there was a chance of someone dying when we left. Sure, we kind of... Didn't expect to lose two in one day. But that's how it is, they're in StarClan now. Being upset is one thing, but we can't get bitter and divided out here. That was the reason you and Bearpaw didn't get punished back with the wolves. I didn't understand why Hazelflight and the others just let it go, but... Now I kinda do." he explained. Moonpaw sent a glance toward him, then hesitantly pressed back up against him.

"I know. I'm sorry... I just... I miss him. My heart hurts... I didn't know heartbreak literally felt like your heart tearing in half." she admitted. Applepaw nodded, deciding to clean between her ears the way Firefoot or Wolfclaw would do.

"I know. But hey, at least Shadowwhispers went out very honorably. It was very brave of him to try and save Hazelflight." he pointed out. Moonpaw hesitated for a long moment before letting out a very sad laugh.

"Yeah... It's such a Shadowwhispers thing to do. His clan was everything to him. Calmwind says he was always that way, even back when she was a kit." she noted softly.

"Oh yeah?" Applepaw asked, hoping to prompt her into a more positive direction. He hated the sound of the young apprentice being so sad. She was pretty upbeat in general, and she still seemed so kit-like.

"Yeah... You know, Shadowwhispers is a lot older than her. He was already a warrior when she was born. She always really admired him growing up, but they didn't talk until after she became a warrior. She became a warrior late, after Mothpetal and their brothers, because she got injured or something. So she wanted to prove herself just as tough a warrior as anyone else. Everyone knew about Shadowwhispers climbing Star Mountains to fight a badger out of its nest near the Forbidden Falls, so Calmwind wanted to set herself a really hard goal like that.

"Shadowwhispers' sister Sweetflower was killed by a fox around that time. so Calmwind decided she was going to hunt it down and kill it by herself. She didn't ask to do it, she just kind of... Left. Of course, she didn't have any experience with a fight like that, so she kind of was unprepared but... Shadowwhispers showed up to save her. He had noticed her sneaking out of camp, and was worried because... Well, his sister had just been killed by a fox. So he followed after her and ended up saving her when she underestimated the fox. She was embarrassed, but he promised to tell everyone they had killed it together.

"And they ended up becoming mates not long after that. Shadowwhispers considered her very brave, and she was happy that she got the attention of one of her heroes. I guess things just progressed from there. They had Silverheart some time after that, and well... Me and Mothpaw eventually came next." Moonpaw finished, looking up toward the sky. She had clearly heard the story recounted to her several times, just like Firefoot used to tell Applepaw and his littermates about how she met Cove. And despite the clear sadness still in the white she-cat's voice, she did seem to be a feeling somewhat better.

"So he did always jump to protect cats he thought were in danger, I guess." Applepaw noted, after the long silence began to make him feel uncomfortable again. Moonpaw nodded in agreement.

"Yeah... He did. That's not even mentioning when he went with Glimmerwind to get that badger back as an apprentice. You know, he did that before he took any assessments or went to Star-Cavern. It wasn't like he was on the verge of becoming a warrior like you or Bearpaw. His friend wanted help with getting a badger taken care of, so he went off with her to take care of it for the medicine cats. And Silverheart says he always went to check up on the progress of apprentices, even before he was Bearpaw's mentor. Just in case they needed demonstrations or something, you know? Shadowwhispers... He was a good cat. He didn't deserve to die out here... Not like that. But I guess... He did go doing what he loved... So that's something." Moonpaw responded softly, looking off toward the path where her father had fallen.

"Yeah... Poor Calmwind and Smokerise and... All of your kin really. Mothpetal, Silverheart, Mothpaw... And all the friends like Nightsoul. They don't even know he's gone... And they won't until we get back. That could be a moon from now! They don't even know that they should be sad right now." Applepaw thought aloud, focusing in the direction as well. He felt Moonpaw practically convulse before he heard her wail.

"Someone needs to tell Calmwind! I'm going to have to walk into camp and tell her that he's dead and we couldn't even bury him! And Mothpetal's going to have to hear the same about Hazelflight, and they're gonna be so-" Moonpaw broke off, shuddering as she sobbed. Applepaw felt instantly flustered again, him and his fat mouth!

"Hey, hey, calm down! It's okay, you won't have to be the one to tell them. Darkfire will surely give a full report when we get back to camp, and he'll have to mention what happened to Shadowwhispers and Hazelflight. And... And if for some reason he doesn't, I can tell them for you." he attempted to soothe. Moonpaw shook her head, still looking hysterical and unsatisfied with the offer.

"You aren't our kin, it isn't your job to deliver news like that. They'll be angrier if you tell them." she whimpered.

"Moonpaw, they aren't going to be angry with me or you. They'll be upset with the news, but not with us. There's a difference." he pointed out. "Besides, you're still barely an apprentice, you shouldn't be given that task either. Look at how much of a mess you are over this, how would it be fair to make you tell your mother what happened to your father?" he added. Moonpaw shrank into herself, as if for protection.

"I don't know." she whispered. Applepaw shifted closer to her, feeling concerned for how upset she was. He remembered her vomiting earlier, seemingly from being upset, and worried about her doing it again. Throwing up on an empty stomach wasn't exactly pleasant.

"Who knows, Shadowwhispers is in StarClan now, and so is Hazelflight. Maybe one of them will deliver the news. I mean, Shadowwhispers wouldn't want to put his daughter through all that stress, right? And Hazelflight... She really liked you. She told me you had such a good attitude, and she thought you would make a good warrior. Either of them would want to keep their deaths as painless as possible, you know?" Applepaw suggested. Moonpaw was still shaking from her emotions, and pressed her muzzle against his shoulder as if to steady herself.

There was a long, intense silence. Applepaw debated on saying something else, but decided against it as he noticed that Moonpaw seemed to be slowly stopping. He had already proven he made these things worse, and that he was not a comforting presence in these situations. He didn't know how to help others with grief, especially due to preferring to handle his own alone. He nearly jumped when she finally spoke again.

"It does sound like a Shadowwhispers thing to do. Telling Calmwind himself. They were so close, he would want to say goodbye." she agreed. Applepaw nodded.

"Yeah, it does."

There was again a very long silence between them. Applepaw honestly thought that Moonpaw had dosed off at his side, given how still and quiet she was. Then he felt her shift into a more comfortable position, pulling her face from his shoulder but still leaning against him for comfort.

"I'm sorry about Hazelflight... You lost someone really close to you too. I'm being a little selfish by... I dunno, pouring everything out to you while you're upset too." she pointed out. Applepaw shrugged, attempting to be as nonchalant as possible.

"I lost a mentor, you lost a father. There's a difference." he lied. Well, maybe it wasn't fully a lie. Shadowwhispers was Moonpaw's kin, while Hazelflight was not his. But he was hurt, in spite of his efforts to play it down. He missed her terribly already, feeling an aching in his heart. Like Moonpaw, he hadn't know just how literally the term heartbreak seemed to describe the painful feeling a loss.

"It's not so different. You get really close to friends and mentors usually become friends after their apprentices get their warrior names. It's gonna hurt to lose them. Besides... Bearpaw told us that you had a crush on her." Moonpaw admitted. Applepaw stiffened a bit, feeling hot under his fur. He had assumed that his brother didn't know anything about his feelings, but apparently he had, and had even told the others!

"I'm sorry. I won't tell anyone, and Darkfire probably won't either. But Bearpaw only brought it up so you wouldn't have to go our hunting, because Darkfire did try to wake you up. Don't be angry." Moonpaw pleaded, noticing his irritation. Applepaw shook his head.

"No, I'm fine... Just a little annoyed. It's embarrassing, you know? Having your secret crush found out, especially when it's on your mentor, is just... Hard to recover from. Daisypaw would have a field day with something like that. I appreciate you telling me though." he replied. Moonpaw leaned her head against his shoulder.

"If it makes you feel any better, I used to have a big crush on Darkfire before he became my mentor." she admitted. Applepaw sent a glance toward her from the corner of his eye.

"Really? Darkfire?"

"He seemed so dark and mysterious when I was a kit... Now I know he's just kinda rude and wants to be alone all the time. Nothing mysterious and attractive." Moonpaw defended, sounding a bit embarrassed. Applepaw chuckled.

"Not your type?" he teased lightly. Moonpaw huffed a little, not responding. Applepaw felt more relaxed, having moved from the uncomfortable topic of deaths to the more familiar teasing and apprentice talk that would be happening back home, especially with Daisypaw in the apprentice den. "Don't worry, I get it. Everyone has a type. I wasn't Hazelflight's type, so... Not like my crush would have continued for very long." he admitted. Moonpaw glanced at him.

"How do you know her type?"

"We talked a little about cats we liked yesterday. I got a pretty clear idea that she would never like me back. So... I dunno, guess I would have moved on if she had lived longer. No point in pining after someone who will never return your feelings." he pointed out. Moonpaw considered this for a moment.

"I suppose so, if you're sure it will never happen." she agreed. There was silence between them for a few moment. "So what is your type?" Moonpaw asked, voice full of curiosity despite her clear effort to not sound too interested. Applepaw shrugged.

"I dunno, golden she-cats I guess. That's what I told Hazelflight at least. I really find them pretty." he replied. "I guess most of the she-cats I've liked have also been pretty tough. Softer spoken ones like Lavenderpaw have always been more into Bearpaw. He always tells me that feisty she-cats are going to put an end to me, because they won't tolerate my bad moods like him and Wolfclaw." he added, almost jokingly. Moonpaw seemed to consider this for a moment.

"So... I guess you wouldn't like someone like me then?" she asked. Applepaw sent a surprised glance toward her, but she didn't seem to be paying attention to him. "You know, I was honestly a little jealous when Bearpaw said you liked Hazelflight... I dunno. Maybe it's dumb, but I always thought you were kinda cute." she murmured.

Applepaw really didn't know what to say to that. He felt hot under his fur with embarrassment, and too flustered to really make any meaningful comments. He had never been complimented in this way before, not on his looks. He was used to being praised for hunting, but that wasn't really a flirty thing. He was used to standing in the background, pining for she-cats who were older than him who would never notice him in that way, never the other way around.

"Well I... Um." Applepaw paused, clearing his throat quickly when he realized he was not going to be understandable if he continued to stutter.

"Sorry. I guess that was inappropriate." Moonpaw decided, sitting up quickly. She suddenly seemed a little flustered as well. "I guess... I dunno. I've never had anyone I know die before... It's like... I knew death was a thing. But it always seemed like something that was so far off, like I won't have to really deal with it. Now that I've seen two... I guess I just want to speak my mind more. No regrets, you know? In case something happens to any more of us." she explained. Applepaw nodded, relating more to her than he had ever thought he would back in the forest, with them both in their relatively safe camp.

"I get that. I know that... I said Hazelflight told me her type, but she actually told me a specific warrior she liked... She was planning to confess when we got back, you know? But... She won't be able to now." he admitted, thinking to Roseear. He didn't know which would be worse, Roseear not liking Hazelflight and therefore never having an interest to be her mate, or Roseear returning Hazelflight's feelings and now having the chance at being together ripped away. It made him feel very sad, despite the fact that it wasn't his relationship to be part of anyway.

"That's so sad." Moonpaw agreed. They were again quiet for a moment, the silence being very awkward. Applepaw was beginning to tire a bit of these long lulls in conversation, something he would usually welcome in non-death circumstances.

"Do you like me?" he asked impulsively. He almost immediately regretted the action, seeing the shocked look that he got from Moonpaw. But she quickly recovered and sent a look off toward the sky.

"I dunno. Haven't decided yet." she responded. Applepaw stared at her, feeling unsure if she was being coy or not. She had just called him cute, and said she was jealous when she heard he liked another she-cat. Why was flirting hard? "Like, you can honestly be a jerk sometimes. Like the other day with Bearpaw. He already felt bad about the whole wolf thing, and you kept bringing it up and scaring him. But then you're also sweet, like... Well, now. You tried to make me feel better even though you're having a bad time too. So you're kind of... Mixed, I guess. Sometimes nice, sometimes not." she added.

"Everyone is to an extent." Applepaw pointed out defensively. Moonpaw purred a little.

"I guess you're right. But I'm not sure how much you lean to either side, so... Until I know that, I can't decide if I like you." she responded, tone much more clearly flirtatious now. Applepaw felt more flustered as he looked away from her, ignoring her purr of laughter at his reaction.

"I wish I could be so blunt with my feelings. Wolfclaw always tells me I bury myself in them too much." he mumbled. Moonpaw snuggled against his side.

"It's never too late to change. Like I said... Those deaths are making me rethink life a little bit. Why wouldn't you?" she asked. Applepaw considered that for a second.

"You're a weird she-cat, Moonpaw." he decided. Moonpaw huffed and pulled away from his side, shoving him with one of her paws.

"Way to ruin the moment, jerk!" she complained, though Applepaw could hear a bit of a joking tone beneath it. Applepaw purred a bit.

"But seriously, if you're out her looking for super sweet cats, why don't you get all cuddly with Bearpaw? It seemed like you rejected him pretty hard earlier." he pointed out. Moonpaw winced a bit.

"Yeah, I guess I was a little rude. But I had just watched my dad die and threw up and everything, I wasn't really ready to talk then... It's been a bit. It's nearly sunset now." she pointed out. Applepaw sent a glance toward the warm sky, making a noise of agreement. "Besides, Bearpaw is just a friend, sweet or not. Even if I did like him like that, which I don't, I would never try and take him away from Stripepaw. She's got it so bad for him, you don't have to be Daisypaw to know that." she pointed out.

Applepaw couldn't exactly disagree with that. Stripepaw had not so subtly been fawning over Bearpaw since he and his littermates were new apprentices and she was still in the nursery. It was honestly heartbreakingly annoying that Bearpaw was too thick not to notice a crush right in front of him. Still, Applepaw felt a little bad for Bearpaw, since Moonpaw didn't seem to have the slightest bit of feelings for him. Hopefully the poor guy didn't take it too hard.

Applepaw suddenly heard paw-steps from behind him, and turned to see Darkfire and Bearpaw emerging from the trees. He felt Moonpaw move away from him, and make her way toward them. Applepaw quickly followed after her, suddenly feeling his stomach growl angrily at him. He had lost his appetite after Hazelflight had fallen, but now that the promise of food was near... He felt it coming back in full force.

Bearpaw paused as he noticed their approach, setting the mice down as Moonpaw and Applepaw came to a stop in front of him. "Good to see the two of you awake and in... Better moods." he noted, voice sounding almost croaky. Applepaw could immediately tell that Bearpaw had been upset and was trying to put a strong face back on for the pair of them. He felt bad that he had fallen asleep, and that Bearpaw had been forced to deal with his own pain alone. He knew his brother had really looked up to Shadowwhispers, and was probably very upset about the loss.

"You alright?" Applepaw asked, stepped closer to his brother. Bearpaw swatted at him in a gesture that was probably meant to be playful, but came across more as pathetic.

"We only got a few mice. Not enough for all of us. One of you can have mine, I'm not very hungry." he noted. Applepaw shook his head.

"Moonpaw and I can share and then head out for our own hunt. You need to eat just as much as we do." he pointed out. Bearpaw nodded, picking up one of the mice and walking off to settle somewhere by himself. Darkfire watched the tom go, setting his own mouse between his paws and settling down.

"Give him some time. He's taking Shadowwhispers pretty hard. He's trying to put on a brave face but... You're all still a bunch of kits." he explained. "...Don't mean that as an insult, by the way. I just mean you're all young and not used to things like this. How many deaths do you really remember?" he added, as if realizing he might be coming off harshly.

"Scarstar... Sparrowear? Maybe a few other elders, I'd need to think on it though." Applepaw replied. Darkfire looked away.

"Doeeye was alive when you were apprentices." he pointed out. Applepaw's eyes lit up.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about her! She was really nice." he agreed. Darkfire shook his head.

"Either way, none of those were close to you. You haven't lost close companions. You've lost cats that are old, that your mother knew so you were sad because she was sad. This is the first experience with death of family and friends any of you have dealt with. THAT is what I was getting at." Darkfire explained. Moonpaw nodded.

"I understood that." she murmured, pulling a mouse closer and beginning to take a few bites. Applepaw again felt embarrassed, realizing he had missed the point as he quickly settled at Moonpaw's side and took his own bite of their mouse. "Was there anything else out there to catch? You know, besides mice?" Moonpaw asked, as she began to finish her half unsatisfyingly quickly.

"A few birds. We didn't manage to catch any between our talk and Bearpaw's general lack of skill when it comes to that particular prey. If I'd known he was so bad, I would have made him stand back while I got 'em." Darkfire grumbled. Moonpaw glanced toward Bearpaw, who seemed to be sulking.

"You weren't too hard on him, were you? He seems upset." she pointed out."

"I was with the first one... We ended up having a talk between them, which was when he broke down about Shadowwhispers, so I tried to be easier on him." Darkfire admitted. Applepaw finished his half of the mouse and stood.

"I'm going to check on him before we leave. Be right back." he promised, padding away from the pair. His brother kept his head down as Applepaw approached, and quickly laid at his brother's side.

"Hey... You alright?" he asked. Bearpaw sighed.

"Yeah... I think so. Just... It's weird. Shadowwhispers being gone, I mean. I've been around him for so long, he was my mentor... You get that though, right? With Hazelflight?" he asked. Applepaw nodded.

"Of course. Moonpaw and I were just talking about it. I think it made her feel better." he admitted.

"That's good. Poor thing, she's so young... Darkfire says we all are, but... Especially her. She's hardly an apprentice, not even a full moon of experience behind her." Bearpaw growled, sounding more passionately angry than Applepaw had heard him in a while.

"Hey... Calm down. There's nothing we can do now." Applepaw pointed out. Bearpaw huffed, looking away and continuing to fume.

"I know. I'm just angry, I guess. Like, they kept talking about how dangerous this whole thing was, but I didn't really expect anyone to die out here. I mean, I messed up SO many times in the first day, and I'm here. Hazelflight slipped ONCE and now her and Shadowwhispers are both gone. I guess I just feel like it's not fair. If they can die, what chance to the rest of us have?" he asked, looking to his brother with huge, upset eyes. Applepaw leaned up and began to clean between his brother's ears, smoothing the fur.

"Hey, don't talk like that. It's not your fault they're gone. You made it through and they didn't, but they wouldn't want you to feel bad about living. I'm guess we've gone through the worst, if we keep our heads up we'll make it." he argued firmly. Bearpaw dipped his head and let Applepaw groom him.

"I really miss Wolfclaw." he whispered. Applepaw nodded.

"I know... I do too."

"You kind of sound like her."

"What do you mean?"

"You're always such a pessimist... But not right now. Not when we need someone to show us the light. You're like Wolfclaw in that way."

"Oh." Applepaw didn't know what else to say. He honestly felt strangely flattered to be compared to their sister, especially when it was by his own brother who knew them both so well. "I guess... Survival draws the best out of all of us." he decided. Bearpaw nodded in agreement.

"Yeah." he murmured. After a brief silence, when Applepaw was considering going back over to Moonpaw to start their hunt, Bearpaw finally spoke again. "Thanks. I feel a lot better. You're better at this than Darkfire." he murmured. Applepaw hesitated, then purred a bit.

"I don't know if Darkfire's ever felt an emotion in his life other than annoyance." he joked, hoping to ease the mood further. Bearpaw gave a half-hearted laugh.

"Don't be mean, he was trying."

"I'm sure he was." Applepaw replied truthfully. "He seemed kind of concerned when you walked off. Told us to give you space." he added. Bearpaw nodded.

"I think I needed it. I'm alright now." he agreed. "What about you and Moonpaw? Will you really be okay with hunting out there?" he asked. Applepaw tensed a bit, remembering his previous conversation with the white she-cat.

"Would you rather she stay here with you? I can ask her to." he offered. Bearpaw shook his head.

"Nah. The hunting actually helped a lot. Kind of took my mind off the journey, you know? Why, do you think she can't handle it?" the brown tabby questioned, glancing off toward Moonpaw.

"No, I think she'll be fine. I just... Well... We didn't only talk about death while you were gone."

"Good call. Getting our minds on other topics is helpful, at least according to Darkfire."

"We might have talked about what cats we like." Applepaw explained. Bearpaw was silent for a moment.

"You're not mad I told them about Hazelflight, are you?" he asked.

"Honestly, a little. That wasn't very cool. But more importantly, I asked Moonpaw who she liked and uh... Well... She might have said she found me cute. She said she wasn't sure she liked me, y'know, like THAT, but she did say she only sees you as... As a friend." he admitted. Bearpaw purred warmly.

"You mean you actually found a she-cat that's OUR age who might actually give you the time of day? You really are growing up." he teased. Applepaw was startled.

"I... You aren't upset?" he questioned. Bearpaw looked blankly at him.

"No? Why would I be?"

"Well... I thought you liked Moonpaw."

"I think she's cute. But we're just friends. Maybe we flirt a little, but it's all in good fun. Unlike you, I was thinking about having some fun before I settled down as a warrior." Bearpaw replied, laughing a little. Applepaw felt hot under his fur, embarrassed at having misread the entire relationship. He was really not good at this, even with his own family!

"Okay then. Sorry for assuming, I guess. Glad you're alright with this." he stated awkwardly. Bearpaw purred and nudged his shoulder.

"Go on, you have some hunting to do. Your queen awaits." he teased. Applepaw huffed and stood.

"Can you not? We're not even mates." he grumbled, turning and padding of toward Moonpaw. He heard his brother laughing good-naturedly behind him, and made a mental note to rip his ears off when they got back home. Moonpaw stood as he approached, flicking her tail and nodding off toward the trees.

"Darkfire says there's a really small pond not far into the trees. Hopefully we can get a few nice, juicy birds and actually get a good meal." she reported. Applepaw nodded, leading her off into the trees.

It didn't take them walking very long before they did come to the pond. It wasn't particularly clean-looking water like their beloved lake and river, but it would do for a pair of thirsty apprentices who hadn't had anything to drink for a day. The pair quickly settled at the edge and took long drinks. Applepaw was happy to find that the water was very cold, and tasted amazing in spite of the leaves and other debris in it. Applepaw assumed it only looked so messy due to the bad storm from the previous night, and that it was otherwise a decent spot.

"I didn't realize how much I needed that until just now." Moonpaw purred, pulling back from the water and glancing at him. Applepaw nodded in agreement.

"Neither did I. It's really refreshing, huh?" he agreed.

"So... Bearpaw seemed to be in a better mood." she noted. Applepaw's ear twitched.

"Yeah. He's good about bouncing back from things." Applepaw replied. Moonpaw purred.

"That's good. I was worried Darkfire upset him. He can come off a little cold... Like, all the time." she explained. Applepaw chuckled.

"Believe me, I noticed."

"Yeah. He's still a good mentor though. I've learned a lot from him."

"Well, it's his job. He seems to take his duties pretty seriously, from my experience."

"He does." There was a brief pause. "I bet you'll make a good mentor one day too. You're good at teaching." she complimented. Applepaw stood,

"You think so?" he asked. Moonpaw nodded, and he smirked. "Well, let's see if you're right. There's a bird not far behind you, let's see if you remember the steps I told you to catching it."


	17. Lavender - Bad News

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lavenderpaw confronts Glimmerwind and visits Star-Cavern.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is taking place the same day as the previous two chapters. It's essentially what's happening back home as Hazelflight and Shadowwhispers are dying.

Lavenderpaw was pleased to wake up and find Glimmerwind was still asleep. She had managed to slink in the previous day and get some sleep with little interaction with her mentor, and she was still not prepared to talk to her about her conversation with Roseear. She knew it would have to come up today, since Glimmerwind would pick up on her being weird much more easily on a sunny day than a stormy night, So, she took the opportunity to go out and get at least some fresh air.

Outside was already fairly warm, promising a very nice day once the sun reached its peak. The ground was still a little wet from the storm, but their camp was pretty sheltered by the trees surrounding it. She figured that the river and everything downhill would be a huge mess though, and noted that only a few apprentices were stirring around camp. While she doubted it would be a free day, she figured that a bigger fresh-kill pile might result from a day focused on hunting rather than fighting practice, and felt her stomach rumble slightly as the prospect.

But now was not the time for her to eat. She wasn't sure if the queens and kits had been fed yet, so she didn't want to take anything she didn't deserve. Medicine cat apprentices did have to follow the same rules as any other apprentice, after all. That in mind, she decided to go ahead and check up on Wolfclaw. After all, the queen was her responsibility anyway, and she would need to check on her anyway. Might as well do so now and get an idea of whether or not the queens had eaten yet.

Lavenderpaw made her way over to the nursery, pausing as she came face to face with Alligatorkit. The tom-kit brushed past her rudely, followed by his brother, who seemed to give her an apologetic look as he passed. Violetscar followed her sons, yawning sleepily.

"Kits are such a pawful, can't wait for these little ones to be apprentices like you." she noted, tone friendly beneath her clear fatigue. Lavenderpaw gave her a sympathetic look.

"Hang in there, Violetscar. They're about a moon or so younger than Calmwind's, right? They'll be apprenticed soon enough." she pointed out. Violetscar nodded, pushing past Lavenderpaw just enough so that she could keep an eye on her now wrestling kits, but still keep her conversation with Lavenderpaw.

"Mockingstar wants to apprentice them early, but I keep telling him it's against the rules. Let the kits be kits, you know? Alligatorkit misses Mothpaw, but they'll be back together soon enough, no need to rush it." she murmured. Lavenderpaw shook his head.

"He won't apprentice them young. Nobody will stand for it." she decided bluntly. Violetscar nodded.

"I know, it's what I'm afraid of..." she whispered. There was a brief pause, and Lavenderpaw almost made her way past the queen into the nursery, when she heard her soft voice speak again. "I love him. No one else understands that, but I love him so much. Mockingstar isn't a horrible cat... He wasn't. I wouldn't have fallen for him if he was." Violetscar insisted, tone one of desperation.

"I believe you." Lavenderpaw replied, truthfully. Violetscar was a sweet cat, who had always been very soft-spoken and timid. Lavenderpaw couldn't see her falling for any tom that she deemed to be a bad guy. Especially with protective Scarstar standing over her.

"He's not the same since he became leader." Violetscar admitted. "Not at all. He used to be so kind and gentle, now he stalks around and is constantly having a bad temper. Power changes us, you know? Some can handle it, my father could. Sparrowear probably could have as well, so I don't fear for Roseear. But Mockingstar CAN'T. He shouldn't be the leader. I know because I love him, I know him. He wanted to be in charge so badly, but... It's not for him. He shouldn't be there." she added, sounding more and more heartbroken as she desperately attempted to explain herself. Lavenderpaw felt pity for the she-cat, and sent a glance toward the leader's den.

Mockingstar sat on a tree branch, crouched down with his eyes focused intently on his sons. Alligatorkit had roughly pinned his brother, who let out a real yelp of pain at the aggressive gesture. Lavenderpaw felt Violetscar shift beside her.

"Alligatorkit, what have I said about playing nice with Snakekit and not using your claws?" she demanded. Alligatorkit immediately released his brother, sitting up quickly.

"I forgot." he stated lamely, as if he couldn't come up with any other excuse. Lavenderpaw shook her head, looking to Violetscar.

"I understand what you were saying. And I agree. But maybe we should continue this conversation, say later tonight? After your kits are settled in?" she offered. Violetscar hesitated for a moment, sending an almost wary glance toward her mate, before shaking her head.

"No. That's alright. I feel better now, honestly. Just needed to let a little bit out." she murmured. Lavenderpaw shifted uncomfortable between her paws, feeling the piercing eyes of Mockingstar boring into her and Violetscar.

"Alright... You can talk to me any time though, okay? I'm usually in the medicine cat den or in the nursery checking in on Wolfclaw, so I'm easy to find." she insisted. Violetscar gave her a grateful look, as if she had been afraid of being pushed, but nodded.

"Thank you, Lavenderpaw. I just wanna say, I think you'll make a fantastic medicine cat." she purred, before bounding over to her kits as they began to wrestle again, probably more roughly than necessary. Lavenderpaw watched the queen break up her sons, before sending one more look to Mockingstar. He was watching her intently, as if daring her to do something, and Lavenderpaw couldn't help the chill that ran down her spine.

Pushing her way into the den and escaping those unsettling dark green eyes, Lavenderpaw quickly located the remaining two queens. Wolfclaw was curled in her nest, resting her head on the edge of it as she watched Snowbird's kits. Snowbird was of course, curled around her kits, with the exception of Sparrowkit. He wasn't far from her belly, but he was noticeably moved away from the other kits. Lavenderpaw felt a purr rise in her throat as she watched the tiny tom push himself to a stand and wobble a few steps toward Wolfclaw before falling over again.

"They're already walking?" she questioned, padding deeper into the den. Snowbird turned her sparkling odd eyes toward the medicine cat.

"They're about that age. Firefoot stopped by earlier with Stagpelt, when they brought us some prey, and she commented that Sparrowkit was going to be my brave little trouble-maker with how set he is." she purred. Lavenderpaw nodded in agreement, watching the small kit attempt his stand once again.

"Determined little brat, you'll need to be careful with him. He's gonna be like Daisypaw." she joked. Snowbird giggled a little, eyes full of love as she looked toward her little son again when he fell.

"We'll have to see about that when he gets bigger. I can't wait for them to talk." she noted. Wolfclaw's eyes were warm as she watched the kits for a moment longer, then rose her head to look at Lavenderpaw.

"I'm doing fine, by the way. I assume you aren't just here for a chat." she noted. Lavenderpaw nodded, padding toward the queen.

"May I feel your belly? I don't know when I should be able to feel your kits, but..." she trailed off.

"Glimmerwind couldn't feel mind until about half a moon before my kitting." Snowbird offered. Lavenderpaw nodded.

"Might still be a bit early then... Still, I'd like to see if we're correct about how far along Wolfclaw is. She did say she wasn't entirely sure when she... Erm, you know. Conceived." Lavenderpaw explained. Wolfclaw nodded, rolling more onto her side to give easy access to her belly. Lavenderpaw lightly rested her paw on the tortoiseshell's belly, feeling around in a few different spots. "Can you feel them moving?"

"Yes. Do you?" Wolfclaw asked, seemingly nervously. Lavenderpaw shook her head, pulling her paw away.

"No. I think you should have your kits won't be here until the next full moon, give or take." she decided. Wolfclaw's pelt puffed out a little with excitement.

"That's what we've all been guesstimating, thank you." she purred.

"Remember, I'm still not a full medicine cat, so my estimate might not be the right call-" Lavenderpaw began.

"Don't worry, I trust your instincts on this. It's not like you're a fresh apprentice, mine is the second pregnancy you've helped oversee." she assured her. Lavenderpaw laughed, a little breathlessly.

"You say that like it's a lot." she argued.

"Well... Maybe it's not a lot, but I don't think you're clueless, I guess. I was in the apprentice den with you not long ago, I know how you are." Wolfclaw explained. Lavenderpaw shrugged, feeling a little shy about how much faith Wolfclaw seemed to have in her. It made her feel nervous, knowing that she had the pressure of delivering this queen's kits in a moon. It didn't exactly help that she remembered how stressed and snippy Glimmerwind got around pregnancies, which made Lavenderpaw feel more stressed about the idea that they were such a scary topic for her own mentor.

Her mentor. Lavenderpaw felt her mood sour a little at the image of her mentor that appeared in her mind. She still couldn't believe how big of a lie Glimmerwind had kept from the clan. If they had known about his lack of belief, then Lavenderpaw doubted there would be clan-mates out climbing Death Mountain. She and Glimmerwind could have convinced them that they needed to cross Star Mountains, and then everything would be settled. Mockingstar might not have even become leader, Shadowwhispers could already be Shadowstar, with whoever he chose as his deputy! Who knew how great the clan could be right now under better leadership!

"You okay?" Wolfclaw asked, nudging Lavenderpaw. Lavenderpaw jumped, somewhat startled, then felt flustered as she tried to think of a way to explain why she had suddenly gone quiet. Luckily, she didn't need to come up with an answer.

"Look, Leafkit's trying!" Snowbird squealed in delight. Lavenderpaw and Wolfclaw glanced toward the tiny she-kit, who had shifted slightly to watch her brother's walking attempts. The small kit slowly pushed herself up, and took a wobbly step toward Sparrowkit, before toppling over almost immediately. Snowbird purred warmly as she leaned over to give her daughter a couple licks. "Good job!" she praised happily. Wolfclaw purred at the sight, and Lavenderpaw took the opportunity to slip away.

"I'll check in on you again before the moon rises. Let me know if Swampkit starts walking, or if Sparrowkit and Leafkit get the hang of it." she called, padding out of the den. Wolfclaw and Snowbird both called out their farewells, and Lavenderpaw stepped back out into camp. Violetscar and Mockingstar were talking near the bottom of the Towering Tree, with their sons hopping around at their paws. Mockingstar seemed to feel her eyes on him, and glanced up to meet her gaze. They stared at each other for a long moment, and Lavenderpaw itched to walk over and demand he tell everyone the truth about his lack of belief in StarClan, and the fact that he had lied and declared he had not only nine lives, but a blessing!

Mockingstar seemed to notice that she was getting angry from looking at him, because he stood and puffed out his pelt. Before he could make any further gestures, presumably to threaten her as he had done toward cats like Calmwind and Silverheart in previous clan meetings, Lavenderpaw turned and trotted off toward the medicine cat den. It was time for her to confront someone, but she certainly wasn't going to stat with someone as dangerous as Mockingstar. She had promised Roseear she would wait until they went to confer with StarClan, and she intended to keep it. But she needed to talk to Glimmerwind first, she needed to hear it from her mentor that she was a liar.

"Lavenderpaw! Good morning!" Glimmerwind called warmly, looking away from her work as her apprentice stepped into the den. Lavenderpaw stiffened in spite of herself, almost wanting to back out now. She had felt fired up on the way, but now that they were face to face, it was kind of scary. Lavenderpaw was not entirely used to confronation after all. "What's wrong?" Glimmerwind asked, concerned. Lavenderpaw hesitated for another brief moment, before forcing herself to speak.

"Did you know about Mockingstar? That he didn't believe? That he doesn't actually have nine lives, or a blessing?" she questioned. Glimmerwind had opened her mouth to speak after the first question, and it now hung open in what appeared to be shock. It took her a moment to close it, then proceed to have a few false starts at talking before deciding she couldn't answer, and looked down at her paws in shame. Lavenderpaw felt another stab of pain in her chest, the silence telling her much more than Glimmerwind could ever say aloud. Roseear had been telling her the truth, and Glimmerwind had been lying.

"I can't believe Roseear! I told her to let me handle everything, and to keep it between us!" Glimmerwind hissed, suddenly sounding very upset. Lavenderpaw felt her own hurt at the betrayal boil over into rage.

"At least Roseear is a loyal friend! She told me what I needed to know, and even cared enough about you to ask me to keep it quiet! But whatever, all that's important is saving your own tail!" she snapped. Glimmerwind quickly took a step toward Lavenderpaw, who stepped back to keep the distance between them.

"Lavenderpaw, I was trying to do what was best for the clan. Believe me, he was different before he became leader. He wasn't as aggressive and rude as he is today, I thought he would lead the clan well and didn't want to cause unnecessary drama when we had just lost Scarstar."

"He is NOT the leader. He never became the leader, because the ceremony from StarClan with his nine lives was never performed! But that doesn't even matter!" Lavenderpaw snapped, taking an aggressive step toward Glimmerwind, who was the one to back away this time. "You don't care about keeping the clan safe, or you would have outed him the moment he started making crazy claims!"

"I can't let the secret out, the clan would panic if they knew Mockingstar didn't believe in StarClan. They would rip him to shreds and blame him for the famine, and then we'd have two kits without a father and an absent deputy." Glimmerwind insisted.

"It's almost like that wouldn't be a problem if you had said something in the first place." Lavenderpaw snapped. "All you care about is your own pelt right now, because if the clan knows that you're a liar, they'll never trust you again. I think it's disgusting how easily you can just keep something like this from everyone, and I don't intend to follow your example." she added. Glimmerwind looked suddenly terrified.

"What are you going to do?" she demanded. Lavenderpaw huffed and turned away from her.

"I'm not telling anyone, at least not now. Roseear and I were planning on discussing it later today, among other things. If she's worried about the same thing you are, then I'm going to wait until Shadowwhispers returns before I tell everyone about Mockingstar, and YOU." she responded in a low voice. "I'll be back later tonight, when I need to check on Wolfclaw. I know what we're running low on so I'll bring back some herbs if I stumble across them." she added, padding off toward the camp exit.

"Lavenderpaw, wait!" Glimmerwind called, clearly not finished with the conversation. Lavenderpaw ignored her as she exited the den, and padded across camp until she was sure that Glimmerwind wouldn't follow. She was near the fresh-kill pile by that point, and decided that she wasn't hungry as she passed it, looking around camp. Her eye was drawn to a pair of golden pelts. She started toward them, noting as she drew closer that they were not Roseear, but rather Daisypaw and Mothpaw. Still, Roseear's apprentice would likely have a good idea of where Roseear was, so Lavenderpaw made her way over anyway.

The pair were lazing in the sun that now shown into camp. Daisypaw was laying on her back, completely relaxed as her head lolled to the side when she heard her sister's approach. Mothpaw seemed less excited, and much more huffy as she lay on her belly with her head rested neatly on top of her paws. Lavenderpaw stopped between the pair, greeting both of them. "Morning."

"Good morning! It's such a warm day, isn't it?" Daisypaw asked, purring happily. "Greenleaf is on its way!"

"We still have a moon or so. Wolfclaw's kits will be here to usher in the warm weather, and hopefully better prey." she noted. Daisypaw purred at the thought for a moment, before suddenly focusing very intently on her sister. She quickly rolled over onto her side and sat up.

"What's wrong?" she demanded.

"Nothing. Don't worry about it, I just had a fight with Glimmerwind but I'll get over it." Lavenderpaw responded, having decided she wasn't going to let herself get drawn into the habit of lying, not anymore. She had told Glimmerwind she was done, and she meant it. "Hey Mothpaw, have you seen Roseear?" she asked, focusing on the younger apprentice rather than her sister. Mothpaw seemed almost startled to be acknowledged, clearly having thought Lavenderpaw and Daisypaw were going to chat amongst themselves and leave her out of it. She quickly recovered to answer though.

"She went out toward the river by herself. Said it was too wet to train today." Mothpaw replied, quite sulkily in comparison to Daisypaw.

"Thanks. Sorry about the training, Roseear and I have something to do today. I'm sure Stagpelt would take you out if you asked. He goes out hunting a lot, I think he likes spoiling Snowbird." she offered. Mothpaw seemed to consider this, and Daisypaw stood.

"...I can go ask Bonesnap and Stagpelt to take us out. Whatever you're doing, Lavenderpaw, please be careful." she murmured. Lavenderpaw nodded, taking a step toward the camp exit.

"We're just heading out to Star-Cavern, don't worry. We'll be back before nightfall." she assured her. With that, Lavenderpaw bounded out of camp and down the slope. When she came to the river, she looked around for the familiar golden she-cat. She spotted a shape on the opposite side of the river, several fox-lengths away. So, she quickly made her way over the tree bridge and made her way toward it. She found Roseear staring off toward Death Mountain, her back to Lavenderpaw.

"Something happened." Roseear noted, her voice slightly shaky. Lavenderpaw was a little startled, having expected a more normal greeting.

"What?" she asked, stuttering slightly. Roseear still didn't turn to face her.

"I don't know how I know... I just feel it. Like in my bones. Something happened on Death Mountain." she growled. Lavenderpaw stopped at Roseear's side, and noticed that the she-cat was trembling slightly. It wasn't cold, so it had to be fear.

"We agreed to go to Star-Cavern today. So let's do that. They'll know what's happened, if anything." Lavenderpaw pointed out. Roseear finally tore her eyes away from Death Mountain and looked down at the apprentice.

"Did you already ask Glimmerwind?" she asked.

"I don't care what Glimmerwind has to say. I told her that I know she lied, and I already told her that I would not be returning until late." Lavenderpaw growled out, her anger making her voice sound much more aggressive than usual. Roseear went quiet for a moment, before nodding and brushing past Lavenderpaw.

"Let's go then."

* * *

Roseear stood to the side as Lavenderpaw pushed into the tunnel that led to Star-Cavern. She felt Roseear follow closely behind her, clearly nervous to be in the dark, narrow pathway. Lavenderpaw knew that most warriors had a much harder time with these trips, hence her being the leader in this little excursion. She had traveled here many times in the moons since becoming an apprentice. Medicine cats spoke with StarClan each half moon after all, but Lavenderpaw also made it a point to come out here any time she was having trouble or feeling down. While many found it scary out here, Lavenderpaw felt it was comforting to be so close to the spirits of their ancestors.

Lavenderpaw stepped out into the main cavern and purred quietly at the warm sunlight that shone from the hole in the top of the cave. She glanced back to Roseear, who was still squeezing out of the tunnel, before making her way toward the center stones. She settled down comfortably, pulling one stone to rest between her paws and batting another one toward Roseear. "You know what to do, right?" she asked.

"Just touch my nose to it, right?" Roseear responded, settling across from Lavenderpaw and pulling the offered stone to rest between her own paws. Lavenderpaw nodded, and waited for Roseear to do so before she followed suit.

She woke in the den behind the waterfall, just like she had back when she received the last prophecy. She sat up and looked around, quickly spotting a dark gray shape in the shadows of the den. Upon her standing and taking a step toward it, the shadow turned to face her with amber eyes before a familiar cat emerged.

"Emberfur!" she squeaked out, surprised. Emberfur gave a crooked grin and padded toward her, touching his nose affectionately to her ear.

"Lavenderpaw, hello! Long time no see!" he purred.

It had been a long time. The first time she had met Emberfur was back when she was very small, just barely old enough to walk and talk. Emberfur had introduced himself to her, and implied that he would be like a guardian for her, and that she could always rely on him to help her if needed. He had continued to visit up until she received her apprentice name. He had congratulated her on becoming a medicine cat apprentice, and introduced her to a she-cat named Twistfeed, who had apparently been the medicine cat when he was a warrior, so many seasons ago.

Emberfur was very old, and the faded stars in his pelt seemed to grow dimmer with every visit. Honestly, she had assumed that he stopped visiting her because he disappeared. It seemed strange and terrifying, the thought of a cat completely fading and disappearing, but she didn't know what else it could be. So it was shocking to see the tom here, faded so much that his gray pelt almost seemed to blend in with the shadowy areas of the den they currently stood in.

"What are you doing here?" Lavenderpaw asked, stepping toward him. Emberfur seemed to huff.

"Oh, that's the welcome I get after so many moons apart? I thought we were friends."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I-" Lavenderpaw began. Emberfur cut her off with a purr.

"I'm only teasing, Lavenderpaw. I know you're just curious. You wouldn't be here if you didn't have questions, and I wouldn't be here if I didn't wish to speak to you about something important." he assured her. Emberfur sat, curling his tail around his paws. "You're here about Mockingstar and Glimmerwind." he added. Lavenderpaw's pelt puffed and she nodded.

"I'm wondering what StarClan thinks I should do. I can't stand the idea of lying to my entire clan about Mockingstar. I also can't imagine becoming the medicine cat and dealing with his lack of belief when I'm supposed to be interpreting omens and prophecies. How can I serve my clan fully if my leader won't trust my visions? Especially if he can find ways to twist them into his own plans. The clan will suffer if that's the case, and blame it on StarClan and stop trusting its medicine cats. I won't allow that to happen, for my own apprentice's sake." she explained. Emberfur's whiskers twitched.

"You're still an apprentice yourself, and already planning that far ahead?"

"A medicine cat's job is to keep the clan healthy so that the future generations have a chance. Why wouldn't I be planning for my apprentice?" she responded. Emberfure shook his head, another purr rumbling in his throat.

"You really are something, Lavenderpaw. You remind me of... You remind me of someone I knew when I lived. Always putting the clan and the future ahead of yourself. But there's also a level of your own feelings of betrayal, aren't there? You want to get back at Glimmerwind." he asked. Lavenderpaw felt a flush of embarrassment come over her, and looked away.

"...I feel like she played me for a fool. Like I wouldn't find out about something so big. Like I didn't deserve to know about it. And now that I know, it all feels so obvious." she admitted. "So maybe I am feeling a little selfish, and wanting some sort of revenge... But I also do want to do what's best for the clan. Honesty is very important to me, and I hate the way it feels to lie to them all. I hate being lied to, so why would I want to do it to others?" she added. Emberfur made a faint noise of agreement, before standing and walking toward the den exit, sitting and watching the usually roaring waterfall. It was still making a rumbling noise, but seemed much fainter from this high up, away from where the water was crashing and feeding into the river.

"Glimmerwind's deceit weighs hard on you, I can tell." he noted, as Lavenderpaw made her way over and sat down at his side. "If I was in your paws, I wouldn't tell. I would be too afraid of breaking the clan apart." he admitted.

"That would never happen." Lavenderpaw immediately started to argue, only to be cut off.

"It can and has happened. I lived at a time where the clan shattered into two. I was part of HarmonyClan that lived here, in this huge cavern. This was the warrior den." he informed her. Lavenderpaw looked around at the big den. "It was also the nursery and apprentice den. Warriors slept to one side, apprentices to another. There was once a little tunnel that branched into two smaller dens, for the nursery and the medicine den, but that collapsed during an earthquake some moons after we moved camps. You live in the camp that one belonged to AshClan, the cats that broke off from us. We moved to their camp when the war ended." he added. Lavenderpaw was stunned.

"But... How? How could a clan split like that?" she asked, having never heard of anything close to what Emberfur was describing. Emberfur sighed.

"It was complicated. Our leader promised she would make one cat deputy once the old deputy died, and instead chose a different cat. The first cat had a lot of followers, the second did not. Eventually, the first cat left with his followers, and out leader stayed with her chosen deputy. I was on that side, because... I trusted Sunstar's judgment. And eventually, it was settled by... An outsider. I'll explain more to you in time. But what I'm concerned about now is the clan splitting all over again." Emberfur explained. Lavenderpaw shook her head.

"That won't happen. Roseear and I can tell everyone about it when Shadowwhispers returns, and then he'll become leader. There won't be a big fight over it, because everyone trusts and respects him." she pointed out. Emberfur stiffened a little at the mention of the deputy's name, and Lavenderpaw felt her stomach drop a little at the implications. "What? Did something happen?" she demanded.

"...There is a difficult decision that you'll be facing soon. That's all I'm going to say. Please make the best choice, I trust you to do whatever you can to keep the clan together. They can't split now, I don't know what would happen if they did." Emberfur replied, almost desperately. Lavenderpaw heard a sound that seemed far away, but she couldn't make out what it was.

"I won't let the clan split. Even if something has happened, Roseear and I will pull the clan through." she promised. Emberfur gave her a crooked smile.

"I knew I wouldn't be able to talk you out of it, but I kind of hoped." he admitted. They were silent for a moment, and the sound became louder. It sounded like wailing to Lavenderpaw, and she started to look around for the source.

"What is...?" she began.

"Time for you to wake. May the stars light your path, dear Lilah."

"Li-" Lavenderpaw began. Emberfur suddenly disappeared, and the wailing overtook her ears.

Lavenderpaw's eyes snapped open and she sat up hard, looking around. She quickly found Roseear, crouched in a very small position against the corner. She was still wailing in anguish that Lavenderpaw had never heard before, and it was enough to make her heart pound in fear. "R-Roseear?" she asked, taking a hesitant step toward the trembling she-cat. Roseear cringed back into the wall of the cavern, and continued to wail.

"She's gone, they're dead!" she sobbed. Lavenderpaw' heart stopped for a moment.

"Who? All of them? Roseear, what happened!?" she demanded, padding over to the she-cat, who seemed to be crushed against the corner. Lavenderpaw's pelt bristled a little, worry eating at her. "Roseear, what is wrong?" she growled.

"Hazelflight." Roseear whimpered. Lavenderpaw crouched at her side, nudging her shoulder in a firm but encouraging way. "Hazelflight and Shadowwhispers died. At sun-high today." she whispered. Lavenderpaw nodded, still feeling stiff and concerned.

"What about the others? Darkfire, the apprentices?"

"Alive. For now." Roseear responded, voice seeming to fade as she spoke. She went back to her soft sobbing, and Lavenderpaw looked at her paws. She felt relieved that most of them were still alive, but sorrow at the two deaths that had occurred. Hazelflight was a good warrior, very kind and helpful toward the apprentices. But Shadowwhispers... That was a horrible loss, especially now with everything she now knew about Mockingstar. Things were not going well anymore... And they needed to tell everyone what was going on before Mockingstar did anything else.

However, Roseear did not appear to be in any shape to confront anyone. Especially when that someone was Mockingstar, who Roseear was clearly somewhat afraid off. That in mind, tonight wouldn't be a very good night to do anything. Lavenderpaw nudged Roseear lightly.

"Hey, it's alright." she attempted to soothe.

"Hazelflight... Oh, she didn't deserve this, she should still be here." Roseear whimpered. Lavenderpaw watched Roseear continue to cry softly, feeling concerned about how hard she was taking it. She knew the pair had been close, but... Roseear's inconsolable babbling reminded her so much of the first death that occurred when Lavenderpaw became an apprentice: Sparrowear. After he died, his mate Doeeye had lived about half a moon longer and had been completely devastated. And Roseear now sounded so much like her mother had the first few days, with the wailing and difficult to understand words between her cries.

"I agree... We won't let Mockingstar get away with this. He practically murdered her himself." Lavenderpaw pointed out. Roseear shook her head hard, whimpering and babbling. It took a long time before Roseear could make any intelligible words, but Lavenderpaw decided it was probably best to wait patiently. Roseear needed to get her pain out before they went back, and she clearly needed someone to talk to. Finally, Roseear managed to choke out a sentence.

"He won't be punished. He's the clan leader." she whispered.

"Nobody likes him, or what he does. When they hear he got someone killed for something he didn't even believe, they'll replace him or banish him." Lavenderpaw argued. Roseear looked forward, seemingly through the cavern walls.

"I hope they banish him. I'd rather rip him to shreds, but they won't." she croaked. Lavenderpaw nodded.

"I understand. We'll bring it up tomorrow, when we announce that they're dead. I don't know if you're in any condition to do it today." she pointed out. Roseear nodded in agreement.

"You're probably right. I think I need a little more time before we go home."

"That's alright. We can stay here as long as you need. I can wait."

"Thank you, Lavenderpaw. I appreciate it more than you know."


	18. Moon - Moving Forward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hazy dreams of memories, and the journey continues.

Moonpaw paused and listened hard, her ears perked and her eyes focused as hard as they could in the darkness. She could feel someone close to her, a very familiar someone in fact. She caught a wisp of Shadowwhisper's scent, but couldn't see or hear him. No other trace seemed to remain, and she decided to start moving. She ran through the surrounding blackness, searching for any sign of his gray fur. She thought she caught sight of him, but when she ran toward it, all she found was a strange gray puddle. She was silent for a moment, then lightly rested her paw on the puddle. She jerked back when her paw went through, but didn't feel wet. She hesitated for a long moment, feeling an intense urge to jump in. Finally, she gave in and leaped.

Moonpaw let out a startled yelp as she fell a few fox-lengths, then hit some soft ground. She stumbled quickly to her paws and looked around with wild eyes, before her eyes adjusted and she gasped. She was in the nursery... The HarmonyClan nursery!

"How...?" Moonpaw whispered, looking around in a nervous way. Suddenly, sounds flooded her ears. Laughter, talking. Now it really felt clear, she had somehow arrived back home! But... She still wasn't sure how it could have happened. Moonpaw stepped hesitantly toward the nursery exit, when a gust of wind blew in and nearly knocked her over. Suddenly, a familiar rumbling voice startled her.

"You're both little fighters, but there's no need to be mean to each other." Shadowwhispers purred. Moonpaw turned her head hard in the direction of his voice, and noticed that he was sitting between her and Alligatorkit, who were both sitting in opposing corners. Violetscar purred sympathetically as she sat with Mothkit and Snakekit.

"Thanks for helping with the kits. Calmwind really seems happy to get out with her sister." she noted. Shadowwhispers purred, glancing back toward the gray queen.

"It's no trouble at all. I don't often get a day where I can just lay here and relax with my daughters, it's always work-work-work as the deputy. Do they often fight like this? I don't hear Calmwind talk about them having a lot of trouble." he noted.

"Daisypaw and Lavenderpaw kept them in line, it's been chaos since they left the nursery. NurseryClan is not a very fun game when there's a power struggle over who deserves to be leader." Violetscar replied, somewhat jokingly.

"Obviously, I should be leader! I'm Mockingstar's kit!" Alligatorkit huffed.

"You're too bossy, nobody would want you to even be deputy!" Moonkit snapped. Moonpaw felt startled at the sound of her own voice, albeit squeakier and noticeably younger. She paused for a moment, really processing what Violetscar had said. It had been chaos since Daisypaw and Lavenderpaw left the nursery? That sounded like... Like it had happened fairly recently, not several moons ago. Moonpaw studied herself in the corner, and little Alligatorkit. They were clearly both smaller than they should have been... She was clearly bigger than herself. Alligatorkit should have been around her side, like he was now as well.

In fact, this whole situation seemed to be strangely familiar... Like the time Calmwind and Mothpetal had went out hunting with Turtlepaw while Shadowwhispers helped out Violetscar in the nursery. Moonpaw's eyes widened, realizing she was standing in a time over three moons ago. A memory, one of the few days where she got to spend a day with her father.

"Don't get started again." Shadowwhispers scolded gently. Alligatorkit and Moonkit huffed, facing their corners again and clearly putting a lot of effort into ignoring each other. Moonpaw stepped toward her father, trying to bump his shoulder with her head. Instead, she nearly fell through him. Her pelt prickled a little, and she backed away. It was almost like... Like he was a ghost!

"Shadowwhispers?" she asked, poking at him with her paw. Again, it went through him. Shadowwhispers showed no sign of having heard her either, and instead turned back to continue his conversation with Violetscar. Moonpaw repeated his name, louder this time.

"Hopefully they'll grow out of it. Pikefang was always really competitive too, and so was Rowanfrost." he replied. Moonpaw trembled a bit, feeling upset by her father ignoring her. No, not ignoring her. He couldn't hear her at all. Not that it comforted her much, but still. It was better to be unheard than to be heard and ignored. Moonpaw looked around, trying to figure out a way to speak to him.

Moonpaw decided on trying to speak to her younger self, Moonkit huffing in the corner. Bounding over, Moonpaw tried to shake her. Again, her paws went right through. "Hey! Moonkit, can you hear me!?" she hissed. No response again. Moonpaw whined quietly under her breath, feeling panic rise in her. She turned back to face Shadowwhispers, and was startled to find that he was far away from her. Almost the camp's length in fact. They were no longer in the nursery, they were back on the mountain. Why was he so far ahead? Where was everyone else.

"Shadowwhispers?" she called. Thinking she saw his head turn to her, Moonpaw took off toward her father in a sprint. Shadowwhispers, hang on! I'm coming to you!" she called, pushing herself harder. Shadowwhispers didn't appear to be moving... And that was the problem. He wasn't moving away from her, but he was also not getting closer. Moonpaw felt like she was moving, but... At the same time, she felt like she was running in place. Her heart was pounding in her ears, and she pushed herself so hard her legs started to hurt.

"Shadowwhispers, come on!" she cried out. She felt the earth around her begin to shake, and let out a cry of terror as it fell out from underneath her. "SHADOWWHISPERS!"

"Moonpaw?"

Moonpaw snapped awake, breathing hard. She looked warily to her side, and saw that Bearpaw was standing over her. He looked fairly concerned, pelt puffed out slightly in anxiety. "You alright?" he asked. Moonpaw panted, looking to her other side, where Applepaw was curled against her. He seemed to be shifting uncomfortably, as if trying to not wake but waking at the same time. Shadowwhispers was completely gone. It had all been a dream. A vivid dream, but a dream nonetheless.

"Yeah... Just... Dreams, you know?" she replied breathlessly. Bearpaw cocked his head.

"...You kept saying Shadowwhispers' name." he murmured. Moonpaw stiffened and looked away. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked again. "We can talk, if you need it." he added. Moonpaw shook her head.

"No... I'm fine. Just... Need to get up and start working. I'm pretty hungry." she decided. Bearpaw hesitated, but nodded in agreement.

"Alright then." he agreed. Applepaw let out a loud yawn, drawing Moonpaw's attention back to him. He gave her a sleepy look, then scanned the area around them for a moment.

"Hey, where's Darkfire?" he asked, sitting up and turning back to Bearpaw. Moonpaw also looked around, a bit startled by the question. Applepaw was right, Darkfire appeared not to be in the surrounding area. Bearpaw shifted his paws nervously.

"I uh... I don't know. I woke up not long ago and he was gone." he admitted. Moonpaw felt her heart drop.

"So you haven't seen him at all?" she asked, voice hardly above a whisper as her panic began to set in. Her eyes snapped back toward the path where Shadowwhispers and Hazelflight had fallen, and her heart began to pound again in her ears.

"Not since last night." Bearpaw replied. Applepaw pressed his side lightly against Moonpaw's.

"Hey, it's alright. I'm sure he's fine. Probably went out hunting." Applepaw pointed out. Bearpaw seemed to notice Moonpaw was beginning to hyperventilate, and nodded quickly in agreement with his brother.

"Yeah. We're hungry, I'm sure he's the same." Bearpaw pointed out. Moonpaw looked between the two brothers, shaking.

"But how can we know that? And even if he did go hunting, how can we be fully sure that he's still okay? He could have fallen somewhere else!" she hissed, breathing getting heavier. Applepaw licked between her ears, something that Moonpaw had come to thing of as him attempting to comfort her.

"Darkfire's always been a loner, he's just not used to telling us when he needs to go out. He'll be back." Applepaw assured. Moonpaw looked to him fearfully, then pressed against his side, trying to calm her panic. There was a long moment of quiet, with Applepaw continuing to lick between her ears. It was not broken until Bearpaw made a noise of excitement and padded past them. Moonpaw and Applepaw turned to see Darkfire stepping out of the forest, a squirrel between his jaws.

"What's going on here?" Darkfire asked curiously, looking at the three apprentices practically sprinting over to him. Moonpaw brushed quickly against her mentor, butting the bottom of his chin with her head in an affectionate manner.

"Oh, Darkfire, thank StarClan you're alright!" she hissed. Darkfire grunted as he stepped back, completely uninterested in any form of affection, whether it be out of relief or not.

"Why wouldn't I be alright? I just went hunting." he pointed out, setting the squirrel down between his paws. "I got a vole too, it's buried between a rotted out tree and the pond back there. They're both for you three, so I can go ahead and get the vole while you decide amongst yourselves who gets the squirrel." Darkfire offered. Applepaw shook his head.

"No, I can get it. We saw that tree when we hunted last night, I can probably find it. Moonpaw and I can share it if it's a nice juicy one." he replied, bounding off into the trees. Bearpaw lightly pulled the squirrel over to him, settling down with it between his front paws.

"Guess that makes this mine then." he decided, giving his new prey a nibble. Moonpaw looked to her mentor, feeling worried.

"It's nice of you to bring back some food for all of us, but what about you? If you starve, we would all be out here alone, and that wouldn't be a very good situation for anyone." she pointed out. Darkfire shook his head.

"I already ate, don't worry about me. You apprentices all need to keep your strength up for our next course of action, whether we walk back empty-pawed or continue on from here." he responded. Moonpaw felt somewhat doubtful about his claims of having eaten. Darkfire was a decent hunter, but he was no Applepaw. She doubted he would have gotten that much prey, especially in this area where they were all having trouble getting anything more than a few scrawny mice, voles, or the occasional squirrel. It was certainly not the wolf-filled valley they had stopped at, and just the other day they went a full day without food!

"Back!" Applepaw announced, through a mouthful of vole fur. Moonpaw gave Darkfire one more worried look, which was ignored as the tom began to groom his paws, then turned and padded over to the ginger tom. He had a scrawny vole, which looked appetizing despite its puny size. They were all hungry after all, and it wasn't like Moonpaw could force her mentor to eat anyway. Best to keep their strength up if they could, just in case something else happened.

_Please StarClan, don't let anything else go wrong._

* * *

"I think it would be best if we continue." Darkfire decided aloud. Moonpaw looked up from cleaning her face, pausing with her paw still lifted toward her ear. She was a bit surprised by the declaration, as she hadn't even thought it was an option to go back.

"How could you even consider going forward from here? We lost two mentors in one day!" Bearpaw pointed out, pelt bristling slightly.

"All the more reason to keep moving. Do you want to go back on those cliffs where Shadowwhispers and Hazelflight fell? I sure don't." Darkfire growled back. Moonpaw felt a shiver run down her spine at the memory of the pair falling, and had to agree. She didn't want to go anywhere near those paths, and forward seemed so much more appealing at this point.

"It's not ideal, but we know to be careful on the way back. The earth has probably dried too, so even less worry of slipping. I would rather head back to camp than keep going on some paths that might lead to the rest of us dying." Applepaw chimed in.

"We knew coming out here that there was a possibility of death. We have repeated this over and over again every time one of you do something that would be fine at home, but could be disastrous here. The worst case scenario happened and we lost two warriors, but that doesn't mean we can stop now." Darkfire replied.

"Come on, Darkfire! The way forward could be worse! You have said you don't like Mockingstar and you disagreed with him in the first place, I think this is a pretty good reason for us to turn back." Bearpaw insisted.

"A mission is a mission. Even if I disagree with Mockingstar's methods, StarClan did send some message to the medicine cats. So we need to complete this mission, no matter what." Darkfire responded stubbornly. Applepaw's tail twitched.

"Darkfire, please! We can go back to camp, regroup, and maybe even convince Mockingstar to send us toward Star Mountains instead!" he hissed.

"I've told you what we're going to be doing. Shadowwhispers definitely would have made the same call. I don't know Hazelflight well enough to say what she would do, but I'm sure she would keep moving as well after coming this far." he replied, tone one of finality. Bearpaw let out an exasperated sigh.

"Look, it's two against one. Can you at least consider going back!?" Bearpaw begged. Applepaw turned his gaze on Moonpaw.

"Right! Two to one. Moonpaw, you wanna make the deciding vote here?" he asked. Bearpaw and Darkfire also looked toward the younger she-cat, one with a desperate look and the other with a frustrated one. Moonpaw swallowed nervously, feeling hyper-aware of the eyes on her.

"I... I think we should keep going." she admitted. Bearpaw groaned.

"Darn it, that makes a tie!" he pointed out. Moonpaw flattened her ears, feeling bad for apparently making things worse. She wasn't used to chiming in on warrior decisions, and honestly didn't feel like she should have been consulted in the first place. But if they were going to ask, she was going to be honest!

"Why do you think that?" Applepaw pushed, looking to Moonpaw patiently. Moonpaw shifted her paws, feeling a little more confident with Applepaw's encouragement.

"Well...Hazelflight and Shadowwhispers died getting us this far. It just... I dunno, it feels like they died for nothing if we just turn around and go home. Darkfire's right, we knew coming out it was dangerous, we've been told so many times, especially by Hazelflight and Shadowwhispers. They knew the risks. It would be spitting on their graves to just turn and leave because they died." she explained. Applepaw hesitated, seeming to consider this.

"...Yeah. You're right." he agreed.

"Applepaw?" Bearpaw sounded concerned, looking to his brother with big eyes. Applepaw shook his head.

"She's right, Bearpaw. It would be a smack in the face if we just abandoned the mission. I don’t want their deaths to be in vain.” he replied. Bearpaw’s pelt bristled slightly, and he looked around at the other three for a moment before letting out a sigh of defeat.

“Okay. I get it, three to one, we’re going to continue. Can we at least put it off until tomorrow?” he asked, looking hopefully toward Darkfire. Darkfire seemed to think it over, then shook his head.

“No, we need to get a move on. The prey here isn’t good enough for us to stay too much longer. We can get some good distance if we get moving now. We’ve eaten, so it’s time to go.” he replied. Bearpaw looked somewhat crushed. Applepaw nudged his brother’s side in an encouraging manner.

“Hey, cheer up! The path ahead doesn’t look bad, it’s a lot wider, not wet, and the ground looks very stable.” he encouraged. Darkfire stood and nodded toward the general direction they would be traveling in.

“Right. Come on.” he ordered, padding off. Moonpaw stood and quickly followed after her mentor. She heard nothing behind her for a long moment, then heard some murmurs of encouragement, then the sound of the toms following her.

They padded through the trees and skirted around the pond. Moonpaw sent a glance back and noticed that Bearpaw and Applepaw were handing happily back. Bearpaw clearly was still not happy with their continuing, despite what appeared to be his brother’s attempts to coax him forward.

Moonpaw padded ahead toward Darkfire, pacing herself to walk along at his flank. “Hey, maybe we should wait a while. Bearpaw and Applepaw are pretty far behind.” she pointed out. Darkfire glanced back toward the apprentices, and stopped.

“Hey! Keep up, you two, or we’ll leave you!” he hissed. Bearpaw and Applepaw jumped, then quickly padded forward to catch up. Darkfire nodded, seeming satisfied, then turned and continued forward. Moonpaw glanced back at the other apprentices, then continued to walk along with her mentor.

The pair paused, looking down the path. The cliffs seemed to be incredibly high above the ground now, even more so than they had before. Moonpaw trembled slightly, the memory of her father falling flashing again in her mind. She suddenly regretted siding with Darkfire on continuing, now that the cliffs were right there in front of her. She glanced back to see Bearpaw and Applepaw stopping behind them, looking solemn as well.

“Well, we won’t get anywhere by standing here.” Darkfire declared, breaking the silence. Moonpaw glanced up at her mentor, nodding almost out of habit. Bearpaw and Applepaw still appeared to be uncomfortable, but Darkfire pushed past it anyway, starting down the path. Moonpaw glanced at the others before following after her mentor, with Applepaw hesitantly on her tail.

The group made their way slowly along the path as sun-high came and went. Darkfire led the way at a fairly decent pace. Moonpaw couldn’t see how he wasn’t afraid, but he had to be a very good actor to seem so nonchalant about walking these terrifying cliffs. Moonpaw made it a point to keep very close to her mentor, and at some point he must have noticed her, because he began resting his tail tip on her shoulder in a reassuring way. She couldn’t help but periodically glance backward, not feeling the toms behind her, and noticed they were keeping at a slower pace, but making a point not to fall too far behind her and Darkfire.

It was beginning to get late when Darkfire suddenly came to a stop. Moonpaw nearly ran into him, then felt her heartbeat speed up a bit as the fearful thought of having to sleep on the ledge suddenly entered her mind. Darkfire glanced back toward the apprentices.

“There’s a split in the path up ahead! I want us to spread out as best we can, so we might need to sit with some of us on the paths to all be close.” he called back. With that said, Darkfire turned and continued forward. Darkfire stepped up onto a path that branched steeply upward. Moonpaw hopped onto the path that led downward. There wasn’t anything much between them, other than Darkfire being a little higher up, and the pathway they had been on was wide enough for the brother pair to sit side by side.

“So what do we do now?” Bearpaw asked, looking between the paths. Darkfire sent a glance behind him, up the steep path he was sitting on.

“We decide which we need to follow. This one seems to be very easy to climb. It’s steep, but nice and wide with no bumps I can see. The other one...” Darkfire paused as he looked down along Moonpaw’s. “I think I see some trees in the distance. There’s a big gap up ahead, but I think it’s jump-able if we’re careful.” he noted. Applepaw perked a little at the mention of trees.

“Trees mean prey. At least, usually it does. We might be able to find somewhere to sleep and eat.” he pointed out.

“Not to mention it goes down. We’re finally reaching the end of the mountain, I hope.” Bearpaw agreed, looking hopeful for the first time since they had continued their journey. Darkfire nodded in agreement.

“Right. And you wanted to turn back.” he chuckled. Moonpaw was almost startled by the sound, having rarely if ever heard her mentor in such good spirits. But she supposed that now was a fairly unusual time, so of course she would get unusual reactions from him. Moonpaw hopped back to her paws, feeling a purr rise in her throat in spite of herself.

Darkfire leaped down on Moonpaw’s other side, and started up the path. “It’s getting dark, we need to find a camp for the night as soon as possible.” he called back, seemingly oblivious to the apprentices scrambling after him when he was moving so quickly.

“Slow down!” Moonpaw complained, hurrying to keep up with her mentor. Darkfire paused, sending a glance back at her and then a glance off toward the now setting sun.

“Can’t. We need to be somewhere before nightfall, unless you want to be climbing the cliffs through the dark.” he replied. The tom hopped across a huge gap, which gave Moonpaw pause as she came to it. She looked down at the jagged drop, shivering a bit at the memory of Hazelflight’s yelp when she fell. But, she quickly pushed it aside, deciding to focus on Darkfire’s point that they needed a camp to sleep before the dark came. She leaped over the gap and followed after Darkfire, glancing back only to make sure that both Applepaw and Bearpaw made it as well.

Darkfire led the way along the winding path, and Moonpaw felt her excitement start to build as she noticed that unlike the paths before, which sometimes dipped but always made their way back upward, this path was going completely down. It really felt like they were reaching the end of this long climb, and that soon they would be with MelodyClan. Hopefully they would settle their issues quickly, and then they would finally be able to turn and make their way back home over Star Mountains.

Home suddenly felt very close, despite being further away than ever.

“This seems like a nice place.” Darkfire noted. Moonpaw was startled out of her thoughts, and looked around. It wasn’t exactly a clearing like their previous camps had been, but it was a nice enough spot. They were under the cover of trees now, and the undergrowth wasn’t too thick. They would be able to curl up and sleep comfortably here. Bearpaw paused at Moonpaw’s side, looking around and surveying their camp as well.

“Should I hunt then?” Applepaw asked, tail and pelt twitching as if he were itching to do so. Moonpaw shook her head, purring a little. She had never been so excited to hunt, but she did find the ginger tom’s passion for the task to be endearing and cute.\

“I’ll come with you. Moonpaw, Bearpaw, I want you to clear out a little of the undergrowth. Make sure there are no thorny plants around, don’t want to get poked in our sleep.” he ordered. Bearpaw nodded tiredly, and the pair quickly made their way off to hunt. Bearpaw sighed and looked over at Moonpaw.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m really tired.” he murmured. Moonpaw yawned and made her way toward a gap between two trees, pawing through the undergrowth to look for any plants that might cause them issue when they were ready for bed.

“More hungry than anything.” she admitted, hearing her stomach grumble in protest. Bearpaw settled at her side and began to pull out some plants, not seeming to give any mind to whether or not they were thorny or not.

“Might as well just clear it all out, better safe than sorry.” he decided. Moonpaw shrugged and began to copy him, clearing out plants without discrimination.

“We should probably be more careful, I guess. Shadowwhispers was the one who knew medicine cat tips.” she pointed out. Bearpaw nodded solemnly.

“I know. He was the one most prepared for this trip, he wanted to make sure that we didn’t have to have more hardship than necessary.” he noted. They silently continued their task for a moment. “I can’t believe he’s gone. I saw it with my own eyes, but… I dunno. I just can’t believe it.” he murmured. Moonpaw nodded sympathetically.

“I understand.” she agreed softly. “I was so sure my dream was real last night… That he was somewhere trying to reach me. But… You know. It wasn’t.” she responded lamely. The pair had finished their job, and now just stood awkwardly side-by-side.

“I’m sorry about earlier. I didn’t think about it as them dying in vain… I would never want to disrespect Shadowwhispers.” Bearpaw apologized. Moonpaw shook his head.

“Don’t worry about it. I know you really cared about my father. You were close.” she assured him.

“He was a good mentor.” Bearpaw agreed. “I really liked him… Like, I never knew my dad. But… Shadowwhispers always made me feel like I could come to him if I had a problem… I guess… He was kind of like what I would expect my dad to be.” he admitted. Moonpaw purred.

“Shadowwhispers did like being a dad.” she murmured. “I remember so many times where he came to the nursery to play with us kits.”

“He was nice like that.” Bearpaw laughed. Another pause of silence, this one much more relaxed and comfortable. “I hope to be like him one day.”

“I’m sure you will. Shadowwhispers really enjoyed mentoring you, he talked about you a lot.” Moonpaw assured him. Bearpaw brightened a little at that.

“...Thanks. Sorry I’ve been such a downer today, I try to keep positive when I can.” he murmured. Moonpaw nodded.

“I know… It’s okay to still be sad. I’m sad. But we need to keep on moving… Finish everything we set out to do. When we get home, then we can really grieve.” she explained. Bearpaw seemed to think this over, then nodded.

“Yeah… I guess you’re right.” he agreed. Moonpaw sighed and settled down in the space they had cleared.

“I hope Applepaw and Darkfire get back with that prey soon. I’m starving.” Moonpaw repeated. Bearpaw settled down beside her, nodding in agreement.

“I would be happy if they get back before nightfall, honestly. It’s pretty late, the only thing scarier than the cliffs in the daylight has to be the cliffs at night.” he murmured.

The pair were settled comfortably for a while. The daylight finally faded out, and the moon began to rise. Moonpaw began to feel nervous about Applepaw and Darkfire, given the lateness, and was about to suggest going after them when the pair finally returned. Applepaw had what appeared to be a family of mice in his jaws, green eyes glowing with delight at the good hunt. Darkfire wasn’t so bad himself, approaching with a plump robin.

“Welcome back!” Moonpaw called happily, sitting up as they approached them. Applepaw sent a glance toward Bearpaw, whose pelt was close enough to brush against hers, and stepped closer to her, setting the mice at her paws.

“They’re nice and juicy! Take as many as you want!” he purred, pushing them toward her and sending a glance toward his brother. Moonpaw felt Bearpaw move away from her, and glanced between them before snickering a little at the realization that Applepaw was jealous. She pulled two of the mice toward her and butted her head lightly against the side of Applepaw’s in an affectionate manner.

“Thanks, Applepaw. I was starving.” she purred. Applepaw suddenly looked flustered, then nodded and pulled a mouse toward himself, which he happily began to eat. Bearpaw looked between the two and slowly pulled the remaining mouse toward himself, as if afraid his brother would snap at him.

“I’m not gonna bite you.” Applepaw noted, seeming to think the same way. Bearpaw laughed a little.

“You looked like you were about to. Didn’t mean to steal your lady.” he teased. Applepaw huffed in annoyance, and Moonpaw nearly choked on her bite.

“Shut up.” Applepaw squeaked, sounding embarrassed. Bearpaw laughed more heartily, taking a few bites of his mouse. Moonpaw felt a bit hot under her fur as she began to eat her own mouse, deciding it might be best not to try and talk back to Bearpaw if he was going to let it drop.

“Finish up eating as soon as you can.” Darkfire called. “We need to get as much rest as possible, it’s already very late.” he pointed out. Moonpaw nodded, and quickly went about finishing her prey. She was just as ready to sleep now that her belly was beginning to fill, and she wanted to get to sleep soon now that the journey appeared to be coming to an end. She couldn’t wait to reach MelodyClan, anything to finally escape this mountain.


	19. Lavender - Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mockingstar is called out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this is a day late. My computer broke and I have to get a new fan for it, so I was distracted yesterday. But these two chapters have already been typed up, so I can post them. Was going to put them up together, but since I don't know when I'll be able to get the last three chapters up, I have to go back to one chapter a week.  
> Sorry about that.

Lavenderpaw stepped out into the camp, shaking out her fur and stretching out her legs. She had not gotten very good sleep the previous night, as she had tossed and turned worrying over today. Emberfur’s fears kept weighing heavily on her mind, and the idea of being the cause of the clan splitting apart made her want to throw up. She shook her fur out, as if hoping that it would throw the thoughts from her mind as well. Today was the day, and she wasn’t going to back down from this.

Lavenderpaw began to make her way across the camp, easily catching sight of Roseear’s golden pelt. The she-cat was laying off in one of the empty corners of camp, her head rested on her paws as she stared sadly off at nothing. Mothpaw was at her mentor’s side, looking unnerved and worried. As Lavenderpaw came closer, she angled her ears to try and get an idea of what the she-cats were talking about.

“Come on, Roseear, let’s go for a run through the territory. Getting fresh air always helps me feel better.” Mothpaw insisted. The golden she-cat paused as she noticed the young medicine cat’s approach, and looked up at her with a confused and cautious expression. Lavenderpaw dipped her head in greeting.

“Hey, Mothpaw. Nice day?” she asked, trying to be as friendly and nonchalant as possible. Mothpaw sent a glance toward her mentor, who had now focused her sad eyes on the black she-cat.

“Roseear’s not feeling well, I guess.” Mothpaw responded, giving Lavenderpaw an almost suspicious look. Lavenderpaw’s whiskers twitched a little at the distrust in the she-cat’s face, but she decided that she would feel the same if her mentor had spent the day with another apprentice and then ended up depressed the following day. She nodded off toward the apprentice den.

“We have things to do today. You should get back to your normal training tomorrow though, right Roseear?” Lavenderpaw asked, watching as the warrior sat up and gave her paw a few licks, followed by a few quick rubs at her ear.

“Right. Don’t leave camp, but go on and see the other apprentices.” Roseear ordered. Mothpaw looked hurt by her mentor’s request, then gave Lavenderpaw an irritable look before stalking back off toward the apprentice den. Lavenderpaw and Roseear waited until the young she-cat was out of earshot before the turned back to each other and continued their conversation.

“Are you ready to do this, or do you need another day?” Lavenderpaw asked. Roseear sighed and stood heavily, as if she were suddenly carrying the entire world on her back.

“I’d take several seasons if we waited for me to be ready. Let’s just get it done.” she replied, turning and making her way toward the Towering Tree. Lavenderpaw followed quickly, focusing her eyes on the leader’s den. She was happy to see the familiar tom was nowhere to be found as they paused at the base of the tree. Lavenderpaw took a deep breath, sending a glance at Roseear. Seeing the older she-cat was starting to lose her nerve, Lavenderpaw quickly scrambled up the tree and got as high as she felt comfortable. Admittedly, it wasn’t very high, but it would have to do.

“Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather under the Towering Tree for a clan meeting!” she called, hoping her voice didn’t sound as shaky or nervous as she felt. She felt nervous energy rippling through her body, and noticed cats were gathering, though many of them seemed confused. Glimmerwind in particular practically galloped from the back of the group, around to stand by Roseear, giving her apprentice an alarmed and concerned look. Lavenderpaw made a point not to look down at her, not wanting to lose her nerve now, in the most critical time.

“Lavenderpaw?” a cold voice growled from above her, sending a chill down the she-cat’s spine. “What do you think you’re doing, calling for a clan meeting? You’re no leader, no deputy, and certainly aren’t yet a REAL medicine cat.” Mockingstar spat. Lavenderpaw felt anger flare up in her soul. How dare he, accusing her of not being a real medicine cat when he wasn’t a real leader! She may not have been a FULL medicine cat, but she was certainly a REAL one. She had learned much from her mentor, and while she wasn’t ready to take her place, was certainly capable enough!

“I have horrible news to share today.” Lavenderpaw called, pausing to wait for a silence to overtake the clan. She figured if she stayed focused on them, it would help her not start a fight she wouldn’t be able to finish with Mockingstar. He severely outclassed her in size, experience, and training when it came to fighting. Angry as she was with him now, she couldn’t get herself physically tangled into a fight.

“I am sorry to announce that Hazelflight and Shadowwhispers are dead. In a trip to Star-cavern last night, Hazelflight delivered the news herself.” Lavenderpaw declared. She had barely gotten out her first sentence when there was a flurry of anger and upset sounds coming from the crowd. Above them all, Lavenderpaw heard the wail of Shadowwhispers’ mate, Calmwind. Softpelt lightly pulled the pretty she-cat toward her, pressing her muzzle to the former queen’s ear in a sort of comforting gesture.

“What about Darkfire? Moonpaw? The other apprentices? Are they all still okay?” Silverheart somehow managed to yell her question over the general noise of the crowd, and everyone seemed to settle afterward to listen for the answer. Lavenderpaw straightened up.

“I’m sorry to say that Roseear and I didn’t hear anything about them during our outing yesterday. Hazelflight gave Roseear the news of her passing with your father, so I imagine that no news is good news in this case. I’m sure Darkfire will do his best to care for himself and the apprentices.” she responded, trying to keep her tone as professional as he could.

“It’s unfortunate that Shadowwhispers and Hazelflight have passed, they will be missed. But, as I was MEANT to pick a new deputy before moon-high of my former deputy, I would have appreciated it yesterday rather than now.” Mockingstar cut in, giving Lavenderpaw a somewhat threatening look before turning back to the clan. “Roseear is the new deputy of Harmony-”

“Hang on!” Mothpetal snarled. Her pelt bristled angrily. “You named Roseear your ‘temporary deputy’ THREE DAYS AGO. TWO DAYS before Hazelflight and Shadowwhispers died! Did you know this was coming!?” she demanded. Mockingstar’s pelt fluffed out, but he was unable to speak before Roseear finally cut in.

“Enough of this!” Roseear hissed, hopping up to stand at Lavenderpaw’s side. “Mockingstar won’t be making any more decisions for the clan!” she declared boldly. There was startled murmuring, and a confused noise seemed to choke its way out of mentioned tom. Roseea faltered slightly, but Lavenderpaw nodded at her to show her support, and the she-cat continued.

“Mockingstar couldn’t have known that there would be deaths happening up on Death Mountain, but he may have hoped. He doesn’t believe in StarClan, so it’s not like he could receive omens or prophecies about it. Just like he never received nine lives, and never received his so-called blessing all those moons ago. He is nothing more than a fraud, and no nine lives means no leader. Mockingshadow has caused nothing but harm since he took over, and I won’t stand for it any longer!” she hissed.

The uproar was much more intense than Lavenderpaw expected. Lavenderpaw watched as the clan looked up at the trio, shocked and silent. It was immediately followed by first, Mothpetal jumping to her paws, hissing and spitting, and then nearly everyone else. It was loud, even louder than the mourning sounds over the deaths had been, and Lavenderpaw felt herself wanting to curl under her mother’s legs to cower like a kit.

“Get down here, MockingSHADOW. You thought you’d get away with murdering Shadowwhispers? I’ll show you what I think about liars!” Pikefang cockily called. There were yells of agreement, and several cats began to stalk around the Towering Tree in a threatening manner, to cut off the tom’s possible escape routes.

Lavenderpaw had been debating on outing Glimmerwind as well, for letting Mockingshadow get away with it in the first place, but decided now might not be a good time. Emberfur’s request for the clan to be kept together echoed in her mind, and she was not really sure what would happen if they knew that both leader AND medicine cat had been lying. It was easy to stand together against Mockingshadow, he had made it very hard for other cats to like him, but Glimmerwind was very well respected. She might cause a split in the clan.

“NO!” Violetscar wailed, voice full of fear. Lavenderpaw watched the she-cat sprint over from the nursery and practically knock Pikefang over with a headbutt. The tom toppled over, seemingly more from the shock of the normally soft-spoken queen attacking him than anything else, but he quickly caught himself and stumbled away, giving her a wary look. Violetscar’s tail slashed angrily, her pelt puffing and her teeth bared. “Leave Mockingstar alone!” she hissed.

“Everyone, calm down!” Nightsoul bellowed. Lavenderpaw felt a twinge of guilt, seeing how exasperated her father looked with the entire situation. “Can’t we have one clan meeting that doesn’t descend into chaos? Everyone sit down, and we will discuss this properly like adults!” he added. Pikefang growled, tail slashing back and forth as he turned back to the older tom.

“What is there to discuss!? He’s a liar, and in a position of leadership at that! You don’t do that to others! I didn’t stand for it with my mother, I won’t stand for it with this rotten-hearted crowfood of a tom.” he snapped.

“And what is killing him going to accomplish?” Nightsoul asked, giving the younger a challenging look. “Tansynose didn’t die for her lies to you, and neither should Mockingstar. His kits are right over THERE.” he pointed out, nodding toward the two gray-pelted tom-kits, who were standing near the nursery. Alligatorkit was spitting and hissing, tail slashing in an admittedly threatening way. The tom was very close to being apprentice-aged, and Lavenderpaw was certain already that the tom would be an aggressive warrior. Poor Snakekit was just shocked, frozen at his brother’s side.

“Tansynose lied about the father of her kits. As disgusting as that is, it didn’t KILL anyone. As far as I’m concerned, Mockingshadow MURDERED my daughter and our deputy. I think that’s reason enough to rip his throat out!” Mothpetal snarled. There were murmurs of agreement.

“No, please, ANYTHING but that! Mockingstar never intended for anyone to die!” Violetscar insisted, looking desperately around for support.

“Nightsoul is right.” Calmwind suddenly spoke up. Mothpetal looked to her sister with huge eyes, stunned that she would side against her. Calmwind didn’t look at anyone, her eyes were focused on her paws. “Shadowwhispers had such a forgiving heart, and he cared about all the kits in the nursery… All of them.” she whispered, sending a glance toward Alligatorkit and Snakekit. “He would be more upset if blood was spilled over him.” she added.

There was silence for a moment, then Softpelt spoke up. “Mockingstar can step down. We’ll figure out some way to choose another leader, and Mockingshadow can repay his debt to the clan through warrior duties like hunting and patrolling. We’ll make sure to keep an eye on him, so he doesn’t cause any more harm. No need to kill any-” she began.

“I am the LEADER. You’re insane if you think I’ll settle for being treated like some lousy apprentice, asking when I can come and go. I’d rather leave.” the tom in question snapped, his dark eyes fiery. Pikefang snorted.

“It’s fine by me. I’d like to rip his throat out myself, but if we’re going to be a bunch of soft losers… Banishment is the next best thing.” he agreed.

“I’ll accept that too, I suppose. As long as I don’t have to see his ugly face around here ever again.” Mothpetal grumbled in agreement. Mockingshadow looked almost miffed that they were taking him up on his offer, and sent a glance around the camp. Lavenderpaw wondered how he could be surprised that a group of cats who didn’t like him to begin with, and now knew he was a liar, would be happy with him being gone, but decided she would rather not imagine what kind of delusions he must have if he thought any of his behavior was acceptable in the first place.

“Fine.” Mockingshadow snapped, leaping down from the Towering Tree. A few cats in the front row backed away, backs arched and startled looks in their eyes.

“Mockingstar, no!” Violetscar wailed, running over to her mate and pressed hard against his side. “Just take the offer! Stay here with me and the kits, I’ll be available any time you need to leave! It can be okay!” she insisted, and continued to ramble on between her begging. Lavenderpaw held no sympathy for Mockingshadow, as she agreed that he had gotten Shadowwhispers and Hazelflight killed for no reason, but she did feel bad for his mate and kits. They were still innocent.

Mockingshadow grunted and leaned down, whispering something in his mate’s ear. Violetscar tried to deny something, and there was loud wailing, but she slowly quieted down. Whatever Mockingshadow was saying, it seemed to be calming her a bit. Finally, still whimpering and trembling, the queen pulled herself away and seemed to drag herself off to the nursery. On the way, she snagged Alligatorkit by his scruff. The tom was nearly the size of his mother, and struggled against her, but she managed to drag her son off to the nursery with her. Snakekit followed her in, as did Snowbird, who had been watching from the den entrance.

Mockingshadow watched his mate and kits go to the nursery, then tensed when Pikefang approached him. Nightsoul walked around to the other side. Mockingstar looked between them, baring his teeth slightly. Pikefang hissed and unsheathed his claws.

“Try it, I dare you!” Pikefang snarled. Nightsoul gave the tom a hard look before nodding toward the camp exit.

“We’re just escorting you out. You aren’t part of the clan anymore, you need to be removed from the territory.” Nightsoul explained. Mockingstar huffed, but complied. The trio made their way off toward the camp exit.

“Take him to the Thunderpath. That’s the closest border. We’ll wait for you to return before deciding anything.” Softpelt promised. Nightsoul dipped his head, and ducked out of camp after Mockingshadow and Pikefang.

Lavenderpaw finally relaxed once Mockingshadow was gone, and sent a look toward Glimmerwind and Roseear. Glimmerwind beckoned her with her tail, and the she-cat was happy enough to do so. Lavenderpaw followed her mentor into the den beneath the Towering Tree. Lavenderpaw had never really been in here, as it was reserved for only senior warriors on most nights, or as many as could fit on rainy nights. Lavenderpaw had always wondered how the warriors felt sleeping under the stars, and figured it would be fairly nice on clear New-leaf nights.

“So this is what you and Roseear have been talking about for the past few days?” Glimmerwind asked. Lavenderpaw stiffened slightly.

“Of course. I needed to talk with someone I could trust.” she responded, somewhat accusingly. Glimmerwind flinched, and her shoulders drooped.

“I’m sorry you feel that you can’t trust me. I know I made the wrong call, believe me. I regret it, I wish I had said something back when Scarstar died. If I had known that he would get Shadowwhispers killed...” Glimmerwind broke off in an almost sob. She waited for a moment, then cleared her throat. “He was a good friend to me, Lavenderpaw.”

“Mockingshadow?” Lavenderpaw asked, fairly skeptically. Glimmerwind shook her head.

“Shadowwhispers.” she corrected. “We were apprentices together. Half a moon apart in the nursery. I’ve known him my whole life, we trained together when I became a warrior apprentice.” she reminisced softly. Her eyes misted over for a bit, and Lavenderpaw felt herself soften a bit, for the first time since learning about her mentor’s deception.

“Oh?” she asked. Glimmerwind looked down, closing her eyes for a long moment before she looked back to Lavenderpaw.

“I made a horrible judgment call, Lavenderpaw, and I’ll regret it for the rest of my life. It will be filed into the same place I keep my memories of Driftwillow and our…” Glimmerwind paused for a moment, as if reminding herself she wasn’t allowed to talk about it. When she saw Lavenderpaw’s suspicious look, she seemed to deem openness more important though. “Our kits.” she forced out.

Lavenderpaw instantly regretting the questioning look she had given, how it had practically forced the words out of her mentor. She hadn’t anticipated the admission, as she couldn’t see her mentor as a mother. Not that she would be a bad mother, of course, it was just… Unthinkable. But if she had once had a mate, then of course it was entirely possible the now medicine cat could have dreamed of kits back in her warrior days.

“I’m sorry-” Lavenderpaw began.

“No. You are right to distrust me. Trust is something you earn, no matter your age. Mockingshadow never learned that. Perhaps I didn’t learn it as well as I thought. I broke your trust, I expect for you to look at me differently.” Glimmerwind cut in firmly. “But I will earn your trust back, Lavenderpaw. I value you as my apprentice, I liked being close to you.” she added.

“My son was born dead at sun-high, and my daughter passed before night fell on the same day. I never got to see them grow up. But I’ve watched you grow. You took so well to being a medicine cat. I remember your mother having to herd you out to get you to return to the nursery at night. I enjoyed the company. Being a medicine cat is such lonely work… It’s why I wanted to be a warrior.

“At least since I’ve been alive… There is usually only one medicine cat. They train an apprentice, and then they retire, or they die. Burrnose and I worked side by side for a while but… A lot of that was catching up on my training after I went through with becoming a warrior, and then he died and I was left alone with a bunch of sick and dying cats, and delivering kits… It was a lot. And I didn’t have anyone anymore.

“I guess what I’m trying to say is… I miss being close. You’ve been so angry with me for the past days… Rightfully so, I’ll admit, but that doesn’t make it hurt less. I’m very sorry for deceiving you, and I swear I won’t do it again. I won’t ask you to lie for me either.” Glimmerwind finished, looking nervously toward her apprentice. Lavenderpaw considered this for a moment, then nodded.

“Okay. I can accept that.” she replied. “...I don’t exactly like how it feels to be angry. It’s an ugly feeling. I just… Felt hurt, like you thought I was an idiot. Like you didn’t trust me with the things I needed to know. What if you fell sick? I would have been stuck with a leader that I didn’t have a clue about.” she explained. Glimmerwind nodded.

“I understand that. It was wrong of me to do so. I do trust you, Lavenderpaw. I don’t think you’re stupid. In fact, the only idiot here is me. I’m an old fool who decided to be stubborn when Roseear told me I needed to out Mockingshadow. It was wrong of me, and two cats have paid with their lives over it.” she noted. Lavenderpaw hesitated for a moment, then nudged her mentor’s shoulder with the side of her head.

“Hey, don’t be too hard on yourself. You were wrong to keep this information from everyone, but Mockingshadow alone is responsible for his decision to send the cats to Death Mountain. I know you tried to talk him out of it.” she assured her. Glimmerwind gave her a grateful, but unsure look. As if she were happy for the sentiment, but didn’t believe it herself.

“Nightsoul and Pikefang are back.” Roseear called into the den. Glimmerwind and Lavenderpaw shared a final look before they padded quickly out to the camp. Nightsoul and Pikefang were making their way toward the still gathered cats, and Glimmerwind took the opportunity to hop up onto the Towering Tree and look over her clan-mates.

“We need to come up with a way to choose our next leader now.” Glimmerwind declared. “He tried to name Roseear his deputy earlier before he was outed, but I can understand if we’re not comfortable taking his last declaration given the circumstances.” she added. Murmurs swirled through camp, which quickly grew in volume toward arguing. Finally, Pikefang rose his voice.

“I say, any cat who has had an apprentice should line up on the tree. We need to know our options.” he pointed out.

“Good idea!” Sunflare purred, giving her mate a proud look for his idea. Murmurs of agreement rippled through camp, and soon there were cats lining the branches. It felt strange to Lavenderpaw to see her mother and father in the branches, now eligible to become the next clan leader. How unreal.

“Good idea, indeed...” Glimmerwind agreed softly, looking over the cats. She straightened up a little seeming to take charge for the time being. It made enough sense to Lavenderpaw though, the medicine cat taking control in a time where there was no leader. “Now, anyone who doesn’t feel capable of taking lead of the clan at this point, for any reason, may leave. Becoming leader is a big responsibility, mind you, so no one will judge you for not being ready now.”

Lavenderpaw watched as many of the younger cats made their way down, such as Bonesnap, Silverheart, and Smokerise. Lightfoot was the next to make her way down, much to Lavenderpaw’s approval. The former queen was very sweet and an impressive huntress, but she was not much of a leader. She seemed happy enough providing for the clan as a warrior.

The big shocks were the last ones down: Calmwind and Nightsoul. Both were seasoned warriors, and both had decent enough leadership potential when they put their minds to it. But seeing the understanding in Glimmerwind’s eyes, Lavenderpaw reminded herself that both had just lost Shadowwhispers. Nightsoul had practically viewed the old deputy as a brother, and Calmwind was now mate-less. Lavenderpaw wondered if Glimmerwind’s words about no judgment if they were not yet ready to take on the task of leadership had been directed at them, and figured it may as well have been. There were gasps of shock as the pair sat at the base of the Towering Tree together, looking up at the remaining cats.

Firefoot, Softpelt, Mothpetal, and Roseear were the four remainders on the tree. Lavenderpaw was honestly shocked by Mothpetal and Roseear, given the loss of their daughter and close friend respectively, but reminded herself that everyone handled grief differently. She herself preferred to bury herself in work when she was having negative feelings, maybe it was the same idea. Glimmerwind studied the four remaining she-cats, and nodded.

“Now…” she medicine cat hesitated. She suddenly seemed unsure with what to do, now that they had their candidates, so Lavenderpaw piped up.

“Every warrior, go find a pebble.” Lavenderpaw called, scrambling up onto a low branch. “Firefoot, Softpelt, Mothpetal, and Roseear will line up on the ground. Once you’ve gotten your pebble, put it in front of the cat you think should become the next leader. Whoever receives the most stones will become the next leader.” she decided. Glimmerwind purred.

“Brilliant. You heard her! Go on!” she ordered. Lavenderpaw watched as the warriors scrambled off to find their pebbles, and the four she-cats left the tree to wait for their votes. Softpelt gave her daughter an approving look as she hopped down, giving her ear an affectionate lick as she passed her.

Lavenderpaw hopped down after her mother and made her way over to the other apprentices. Mothpaw stood as the medicine cat approached.

“You and Roseear have some nerve, doing that to Mockingstar!” she hissed. Lavenderpaw looked at the golden she-cat in shock.

“Did you not hear the part where he got your father killed?” she asked incredulously.

“Not on purpose. I can’t believe you’re all trying to spin it that way! Mockingstar is a great leader!” Mothpaw snapped. Daisypaw snorted.

“Oh please, he was literally the WORST!” she argued. Mothpaw glared at Daisypaw.

“You shouldn’t be so disrespectful!”

“I’d rather be disrespectful, than defend a cat that killed my dad.” Daisypaw growled. Mothpaw launched herself at the lighter she-cat, and Lavenderpaw let out a startled squeak. Daisypaw seemed less surprised, and met the she-cat head on with a swift kick to the belly. Mothpaw lost her breath as she was flung away, and hit the ground hard. Daisypaw quickly got back to her paws and glared at the she-cat.

“Hey!” Roseear called, leaving the line to sprint over to the apprentices, Bonesnap quickly joining her.

“What’s going on?” the white tom demanded, giving his apprentice a questioning look.

“She’s defending Mockingstar!” Daisypaw responded.

“That’s no reason to fight.” Bonesnap replied firmly.

“Mothpaw started it.” Stripepaw cut in.

“Lavenderpaw started it!” Mothpaw argued, glaring at the black she-cat. “Her and Roseear!”

“For outing a liar?” Daisypaw spat.

“Both of you!” Roseear growled. The two apprentices fell silent, tails still slashing angrily. “What’s done is done. You’ll understand that when you’re older. If you can’t have a civil discussion, you shouldn’t have a discussion at all. Walk away, it’s not worth it.” Roseear ordered. Mothpaw turned and stalked off to the nursery, cursing and spitting something under her breath. Bonesnap turned his attention back to Roseear.

“You should talk to her.” he pointed out.

“Not when she’s like this. She’s angry, she won’t listen to words when she gets like this. She’ll cool down by nightfall, I’ll ask her then.” she assured him. Bonesnap sent another look toward the golden she-cat.

“That’s for the best. No use in scolding her when she’s riled up and ready to fight.” he agreed, as the warriors both made their way back toward the line, Roseear to take her place and Bonesnap to vote.

The rest of the voting easily took place with no incident. Lavenderpaw crouched by her sister and watched as the stone piles in front of Softpelt and Roseear built up fairly quickly. Daisypaw seemed to become more and more excited as she watched.

“Do you think Softpelt will become the next leader?” she asked hopefully. Bluepaw giggled.

“Our mother, mighty Softstar!” she purred.

“Do you think Stars can actually be soft?” Stripepaw asked curiously, looking to the other apprentices.

“I dunno. Hey, Lavenderpaw, you talk to StarClan! What do you think?” Daisypaw asked. Lavenderpaw shrugged, watching the piles build. Daisypaw nudged her again. “Come on, aren’t you excited?” she asked. Lavenderpaw looked warily at her sister.

“More nervous than anything. I just hope StarClan likes the cat we pick and gives them their lives.” she admitted. Bluepaw purred.

“I’m sure they will. Softpelt and Roseear are both good warriors, and it looks like one of them is going to be the winner.” she pointed out.

“Alright! Time to count the votes!” Glimmerwind called, hopping down from the tree. Firefoot jumped to her paws.

“Wait a moment.” she interrupted. “...We don’t know who won, but we do know who lost.” she pointed out, nodding toward her pile of two and gesturing to the single pebble in front of Mothpetal. “I think those votes should be given to Softpelt or Roseear. Just so those votes don’t go to waste.” she explained. Glimmerwind glanced toward the clan.

“Should we allow it?” she asked. There was silence, then some cats began to give their approval. At this point, Roseear rose to her paws.

“If the vote comes down to me and Softpelt, then I want to give my word, that your vote won’t go to waste. If I win, Softpelt will be my deputy. It’s only fair.” she declared. Softpelt looked startled for a moment, then nodded and purred.

“And if I win, Roseear will be mine. You’re right, fair is fair.” she agreed. Glimmerwind nodded as the general consensus seemed to come to an agreement.

“Right. If you voted for Firefoot or Mothpetal, change your vote.” Turtleshell and Wolfclaw ducked their heads together in discussion, before Turtleshell came forward and nudged the two stones in front of Firefoot into Roseear’s pile. Firefoot purred to her daughter’s mate, giving him a nod as he turned and made his way back over to Wolfclaw. Glimmerwind looked at Firefoot.

“You and Mothpetal may vote as well, since you’re no longer able to be picked as leader.” she informed her. Firefoot looked between the two she-cats, then nodded toward Roseear.

“I give my vote to Roseear, then. No offense, Softpelt.”

“None taken. From anyone.” Softpelt replied good-naturedly. Mothpetal scoffed in annoyance.

“This is… Softpelt has my vote!” she declared, moving to stand at the she-cat’s side. Softpelt gave her a nod of thanks, as Smokerise hesitantly stepped forward and retrieved her stone from in front of her mother. She glanced back toward her clan-mates in a self-conscious manner, and hesitated for a long while.

“Get on with it!” Mothpetal growled out impatiently. Softpelt hushed her quietly and nodded to Smokerise.

“Take your time, dear.” she soothed. Smokerise swallowed nervously, sending a worried glance to her mother before pushing her stone toward Roseear.

“My vote’s for Hazelflight.” she noted softly. “She always thought you would make a good leader. I want to make that a reality if I can.” she added, a tone becoming slightly more confident. Her mother gave her a dirty look, and Smokerise quickly scurried back to her gathered clan-mates, looking almost ashamed as she seemed to hide behind Bonesnap, who licked her ear and seemed to give her some words of encouragement.

Glimmerwind lined up the stones and began to count. Lavenderpaw felt her pelt itching with anticipation as she leaned forward, waiting for the reveal of their next leader. She was anxious to know both Softpelt and Roseear’s fates, and was grateful that they seemed to be treating each other so amicably.

“Softpelt has eight votes. Roseear has ten.” Glimmerwind declared, looking to the two she-cats. “Roseear will be the new leader of HarmonyClan, and Softpelt will be our deputy.” she added. There were cheers throughout the clan, and Lavenderpaw let out a breath she had been holding. The clan didn’t seem to be torn as she had worried, but instead were relatively happy with their new leader and deputy. Roseear and Softpelt nodded to each other and Glimmerwind rose.

“Now, Roseear, we need to go to Star-Cavern.” she ordered. Roseear shook her head and glanced toward Lavenderpaw, meeting her eyes.

“I want Lavenderpaw to take me instead. She’s the one who helped me with making the Hazelflight and Shadowwhispers announcements, and she was with me when we outed Mockingstar. I think she should take me to Star-Cavern.” she responded. Glimmerwind looked shocked, and the clan seemed to gasp at once, but Glimmerwind quickly recovered.

“Right… Sure! Lavenderpaw, you can take her.. If you like.” she agreed, somewhat awkwardly. Lavenderpaw nodded and made her way toward Roseear. The pair shared a long look before they turned and made their way toward the camp exit.

Mockingstar’s reign was over, and now it was Roseear’s turn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The use of Mockingstar by anyone other than Violetscar or Mothpaw after the others start calling him Mockingshadow again is a mistake. His sons will also refer to him as such, but they don't have any speaking lines in this chapter, so won't include them in that list. I think I caught them all, but just wanted it noted that it was a mistake if it confused anyone.
> 
> Darkfire and the apprentices will obviously refer to him as Mockingstar as well, given the circumstances of them not knowing what's happening at home.


End file.
